Empire Life is among the biggest Canadian insurers and provides an impressive array of affordable life insurance plans to fit different lifestyles.
Company Overview
| Year Founded | 1923 |
| Head Office | Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| AM Best Financial Strength Rating | A |
| BBB Rating | A+ |
| Financial Assets | Over $18 billion |
| Insurance Premiums | $1 billion annually |
| Website | Empire Life |
Created in 1923 in Ontario, Empire Life now has approximately 450,000 customers, over 160,000 group life and health plan members, and more than 7300 group employer customers. Additionally, it owns a network of over 33,000 licensed financial advisers across the country to offer you the best quality service.
Within a decade of its founding, the insurance company had expanded across two provinces and merged with the Commonwealth Life and Accident Insurance Company. From 1987 to 2000, Empire Life took over 6 separate insurance divisions through mergers and acquisitions before uniting with Concordia Life Insurance Company in 2002. In 2007, they set a company record by surpassing $1 billion in segregated fund sales.
The company was named Life and Health Insurer of the Year in 2019, thanks to the simple, easy, and digital access to insurance products. This is also the fourth time it has won this prestigious title (other times include 2013, 2016, and 2018). Empire Life has an outstanding reputation, and it is known as one of the top 10 insurance companies in Canada.
Ratings
Overall, customers seem to be satisfied with Empire Life’s customer service. Empire Life has scores of 3.0 and 3.4 out of 5 stars on Google and Insureye Reviews, respectively. These are fairly good ratings compared to other big insurance providers on the market. However, it is essential to note that customers usually post negative reviews rather than positive on these platforms, so you should not base your entire judgment of a company on Google and Insureye Reviews.
Costs
Here is a breakdown of the monthly premium rates for non-smoking, healthy men and women of different age groups. These quotes are for a $40,000 coverage over a 20-year term length.
| Age | Male | Female |
| 20 | $26.46 | $18.90 |
| 25 | $26.82 | $19.26 |
| 30 | $27.18 | $20.34 |
| 35 | $29.70 | $22.50 |
| 40 | $42.30 | $30.78 |
| 45 | $68.22 | $48.06 |
| 50 | $112.14 | $79.02 |
| 55 | $201.42 | $137.70 |
| 60 | $362.70 | $254.70 |
For your information, we also compare Empire Life with Sun Life – their direct rival, to see which company provides better deals for you.
Example 1: 40-year-old Male, Non-smoker, Regular Health, 20-year Term:
- Empire Life Insurance: $400K – $42.30
- Sun Life: $400K – $50.13
- Cost Savings over 20 years: $1096
Example 2: 60-year-old Female, Non-smoker, Regular Health, 20-year Term:
- Empire Life Insurance: $250K – $160.88
- Sun Life: $250K – $168.07
- Cost Savings over 20 years: $1725
Products and Features
Term Life Insurance
- Solution 10
- Solution 20
- Solution 25
- Solution 30
- Solution ART
Permanent Life Insurance
- Solution 100 (Non-Participating Permanent Life Plan)
- Permanent Participating Life Insurance includes EstateMax and Optimax Wealth.
Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance (No Medical Insurance)
You will receive different payouts depending on the situation of your death (i.e., the time and cause):
- Death by natural causes within two years of the policy: Amount limited to paid premiums into the policy without interest.
- Accidental death within two years: You receive the policy’s face value with certain restrictions.
- After two years (natural cause): You and your beneficiary receive the full-face amount.
Critical Illness Insurance
- CI Protect: basic coverage, 4 conditions (i.e., heart attack, stroke, cancer, heart bypass surgery). $75,000 maximum coverage amount, lasts for 10 years.
- CI Protect Plus: 25 conditions. Available in 3 term lengths (i.e., 10 years, 20 years, and term to 75 years old). 6 non-threatening health conditions, which pay 15% additional benefit if contracted.
Empire Life Group Benefits
Empire Life also provides health benefits plans for groups, associations, and business owners to offer health and dental benefits to their members or staff.
Investment and Other Financial Products
Apart from insurance policies, Empire Life offers a wide range of investment products and personal financial solutions, such as guaranteed investment funds and portfolios, GICs, annuities, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, mutual funds, to name but a few. These will undoubtedly assist many Canadian customers with their wealth management needs.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| – A user-friendly electronic application process – Impressive BBB Rating (i.e., positive customer reviews) – Can select between paper or electronic delivery of policy documents – Competitive rates across the board – Can receive quick approvals for insurance applications – Online portal to access policy documents – Wide variety of life and critical illness products to choose from – Bundle options: cover all bases by purchasing life and critical illness insurance bundles, possibly at the cost of one policy. – Can convert term insurance policies to longer policies (e.g. switch a 10-year term to a 20 or 30-year policy) – Provides a unique ART (Annual Renewable Term) life insurance product which is rare in the industry | – No standalone disability insurance product – Preferred life insurance rates are unavailable for all coverage amounts (e.g., annual renewable term coverage tops out at $499,999) – No Universal Life Plan – Cannot get an online quote without completing the process with an agent – Lack other insurance offerings such as auto, home, and travel policies – No mobile app at the moment |
Exclusions
The most noteworthy exclusions from Empire Life are suicide and accidental deaths (with caveats). For critical illness insurance, Empire Life excludes certain cancers (with caveats), such as malignant melanoma skin cancer, prostate cancer and chronic leukemia.
You should check out their complete list of exclusions from their website or consult their agents before purchasing the policy since these exclusions vary by company and considerations.
Contact
Depending on your type of enquiry, there are some ways that you can contact Empire Life:
- For insurance inquiries, you can call its toll-free number at 1-800-561-1268 from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 8 pm EST or send an email at insurance@empire.ca.
- For any general questions, you can phone the head office via the toll-free number at 1-877-548-1881 or email at info@empire.ca.
The Bottom Line
If you are seeking an affordable life insurance plan, Empire Life is certainly a strong contender in the competition. Empire Life ensures that they will be there for you every step of the way in your policy, and this is reflected in the different life insurance options they have made available on the market for you. They are also evolving day by day to fit their products in the digital age.
Be sure to check out all of Empire Life’s offerings and compare them to your unique needs and budget before beginning with the application process for a life insurance policy. If you need some assistance or want to find out the quotes for Empire Life, you can always visit Insurance Direct Canada, a renowned insurance broker in Canada.
You can also take a look at our reviews for Sun Life, Manulife, ivari, Canada Protection Plan, etc.
[…] Empire Life is among the biggest Canadian insurers and provides an impressive array of affordable life insurance plans to fit different lifestyles.Created in 1923 in Ontario, Empire Life now has approximately 450,000 customers, over 160,000 group life and health plan members, and more than 7300 group employer customers. Additionally, it owns a network of over 33,000 licensed financial advisers across the country to offer you the best quality service. […]
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