Company Review: ScotiaLife Financial

ScotiaLife has been around for around 120 years providing customers with flexible, affordable, and personalized policies to meet different customer needs.

Company Overview

ScotiaLife Financial is the life insurance subsidiary of Scotia Bank, the third-largest bank in the country. They entered the insurance market in 2009 since banks are not allowed to offer insurance products directly. All policies sold through ScotiaLife Financial are underwritten by Scotia Life Insurance Company.

They sell products via their captive agents (i.e., an insurance agent who only works for one insurance company) and provide numerous types of financial protection as well as life, home and auto insurance for customers.

Founded	1959
Headquarters	40 King St W, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 1H1, Canada
AM Best Rating	A
Better Business Bureau (BBB) Accreditation and Rating	N/A
Assets	$1 trillion
Employees	51-200
Insurance Products	Life, Auto, Travel, Health and Creditor Insurance.
Website	https://www.scotialifefinancial.com/en/homenew.html

ScotiaLife Financial has developed life insurance packages that will be appropriate and appealing to the majority of policyholders. This means there is a lot of room for coverage personalization.

The only drawback is that their products are solely accessible by Scotia Bank customers.

Reviews 

Google Reviews: 2.6/ 5 stars Insureye Reviews: 2/ 5 stars

ScotiaLife Financial has a pretty positive reputation on Google with nearly 3 stars out of 5. This is already better than various large insurance providers such as RBC Insurance.

With regard to their Insureye Reviews, the score is marginally lower with 2/5 stars.

Products and Features

ScotiaLife Financial does not offer a wide variety of products like some other big insurers – Sun Life, for instance. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing as they can specialize in certain Canada life insurance products and offer attractive deals to customers. 

ScotiaLife Financial’s insurance suite includes term life, permanent life, and critical illness coverage. They do not offer whole life or universal life insurance products. Continue reading to find out more details about their offerings! 

Term Life Insurance 

Scotia Term One Life Insurance

• Coverage amount available for $50,000 to $1 million (in increments of $25,000)
• Renewable up to age 70 without medical underwriting
• Guaranteed level premium.
• Possibility of not having to undergo medical examinations if you are less than 50 years old and require coverage for a maximum of $250,000. 
• Living benefit equaling 50% of your coverage or $50,000, whichever is less, if you come down with a terminal illness and are expected to live fewer than 12 months
• A 30-day money-back guarantee: Get a full refund if you cancel the policy within the first month of the policy. 
• No death benefit to the beneficiary in the case of suicide within the first two years of the policy being issued. 

Scotia Term Ten Insurance

• Coverage amount available is $25,000 to $250,000
• The available term is 10 years
• Guaranteed level premiums. 
• Renewable up to age 75 without proof of good health
• No medical exam needed
• Living benefits, 30-day free-look period, and death benefit exclusions are the same as Term One.

Scotia Term Twenty Insurance

• Available for people from 18 to 55 years old. 
• Coverage amount available between $25,000 and $250,000
• Guaranteed level premium.
• Policy renewable at an increased rate without evidence of insurability. 
• Living benefits, 30-day free-look period, and death benefit exclusions are the same as Term One and Ten. 

Permanent Life Insurance

Neither of ScotiaLife’s permanent life insurance policies acts as an investment tool. All your premiums go towards paying for the insurance cost. 

Scotia Term 100 Life Insurance

• The maximum coverage available is $250,000
• Premiums stop after the age of 100
• Guaranteed level premium
• No death benefit payouts if you commit suicide within the first two years of the policy. 

Scotia Life Guaranteed Life Insurance

• Lifetime coverage
• Guaranteed level premium 
• Premium payments stop after the age of 90
• Terminal illness benefits: a part of the coverage amount is paid to customers in advance if you contract a terminal illness and are expected to live less than a year. 
• Accidental death benefits: An additional cash benefit is paid to the named beneficiaries, on top of the policy amount, if you pass away because of injuries in a covered accident. 
• 30-day review period: A full refund if you cancel the policy during this period. 
• Acceptance guaranteed for applicants ages 50 to 75
• No medical exam or health questionnaire.
• Two-year waiting period: if you die within the first two policy years, you will not receive the death benefit, only the premiums paid with interest. 

Critical Illness Insurance

ScotiaLife has one critical illness plan known as Children360, available for coverage amounts between $25,000 and $100,000. 

Policies renew automatically without any medical underwriting every year until the age of 70. 

If you cancel the policy within the 30-day free look period, you will receive a full refund. 

Pros and Cons

PROS

CONS

Quick and straightforward application process for term life or critical illness insurance. Customers will need to speak to a captive agent to sign up first.  Financial stability with an A rating of AM Best.  Might not require a medical exam for term coverage up to $250,000 Customized coverage for home and auto insurance policies.  Protection for Scotia Bank credit products: customers can insure debts, credits, or mortgages with Scotia Bank using creditor insurance.  Full range of personal coverage including life, hospitalization, critical illness, accident and travel insurance.

Available only to Scotia Bank customers Limited offerings: no whole life or universal life insurance plans. Only 3 term life products. Not a comprehensive critical illness insurance plan.  No conversion option: customers cannot convert term life plans into permanent ones.

The Bottom Line 

ScotiaLife has a considerably strong financial foothold, and it offers affordably priced term life insurance. If you are a Scotia Bank customer seeking a term life insurance policy, be sure to check out Scotialife offerings. You will not be disappointed!

Insurance Direct Canada, one of Canada’s most trusted insurance brokers, is available to help you obtain more detailed quotes from ScotiaLife Financial and proceed to acquire a life insurance policy if you wish.

Check out our home page Best Insurance Online for more Insurance articles, we also have Manulife review, Sun Life review, Canada Protection Plan review, iA Financial review, etc. for your further reference.