Creditor insurance is a safety net for you and your family. It can help you pay your debt or keep up with payments if you are diagnosed with a critical illness, become disabled or pass away.
When you take out a mortgage, personal loan, line of credit, or credit card, you want to know you and your family will be protected if something should happen to you, and that your loved ones won’t be stuck with a debt they can’t handle.
This is where creditor insurance comes in. Sometimes known as credit protection, it can help pay off or pay down your mortgage or loan, or make your payments if the unexpected should happen. This can include coverage if you die.
Creditor insurance with Canada Life can make a lump-sum payment towards your loan or make regular payments directly to your lender. The maximum amount and number of payments, and other terms of coverage, may differ depending on the lender and loan product. They will be specified in your certificate of insurance provided on enrollment.
- Your mortgage
- Your loan and line of credit (personal or business)
- Your outstanding credit card balance
How do you get it?
You can apply for creditor insurance directly from most banks and other lenders when you arrange your loan. The cost of insurance or the premium will depend on the coverage you enroll for. You will need to fill in a separate application for insurance and may need to answer a few health questions. However, in many cases you may even automatically qualify for coverage. If you decide to cancel your insurance later, you’re free to do so at any time.
We have an impressive track record of more than 60 years in the business and serve over 7 million plan members — almost half of all Canadians who purchase creditor insurance get it through us. We have the expertise and financial strength to provide timely benefit payments, helping ensure you can meet your obligations, whatever may happen. Canada Life can also help you with life or disability insurance, for that little bit of extra financial security in all aspects of your life.
Please refer to your particular Certificate for specific details about submitting a claim. Generally, after you submit a claim, you can expect a response from Canada Life within 2-5 days. After that, if you have additional information to submit, you can do so. You should submit all necessary information as soon as possible. For life claims, you should submit a claim within a year following the death of the certificate holder. For all other claims you should submit a claim within 90 days or within the time period set out in your Certificate, whichever is shorter. If you are not satisfied with the decision, you can appeal at any time. To appeal a claim you should provide us with information not already submitted and we would be pleased to review your appeal. If you are not satisfied with our decision or process, Canada Life has established Customer Complaints Handling Procedures. Please refer to the information here.
Information for residents of Saskatchewan: If you reside in the Province of Saskatchewan, the contact information for the Superintendent of Insurance is:
Superintendent of Insurance
Insurance and Real Estate Division
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority
Suite 601, 1919 Saskatchewan Drive
Regina, SK S4P 4H2
(306) 787-6700
fcaa@gov.sk.ca
The claims process will depend on your type of coverage. Here’s everything you need to know about how to submit a claim and what will happen afterwards.
For information on how to submit a claim and the claims process, please refer to your Certificate of Insurance.