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RBC Life Insurance Review – Updated 2024

SUMMARY

Backed by their large bank stature, RBC offers affordable, flexible term life insurance products. Their flagship product is a you-pick customized term (from 10-40 years) with coverage up to $25,000,000 to fit your exact financial needs. RBC’s term policies are convertible and are best combined with critical illness and/or disability insurance to ensure full coverage.

IN THIS ARTICLE

PolicyAdvisor reviews are informed by the insurance experiences of real consumers. As Canada’s leading online insurance brokerage, we create these helpfull reviews so Canadian’s can make informed decisions about their insurance purchases.

Read all the review topics on RBC Insurance Canada to learn more.

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Best Value for Money

AM Best Rating A

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Our RBC Life Insurance rating and review

RBC Insurance offers a best-in-class term life insurance with highly affordable premiums – often times beating the competition on price alone. Applicants have the flexibility to choose different term lengths and coverage amounts, allowing them to personalize their coverage to their needs. While personalization can be a feature of many term life insurance providers, RBC Insurance’s unique YourTerm offering let’s applicants choose a term between 10 and 40 years (if they are eligible) which gives much more choice than the industry’s standard increments. Because of the customization available, RBC Insurance is also a great choice for those looking to implement a ladder strategy for their coverage.

This, plus RBC Insurance’s extensive choice of available riders make them a great value in Canada’s term life insurance landscape.

Pros and cons

RBC Life Insurance Pros

  • Affordable term life insurance premiums, that rank among the most competitive in the industry
  • Maximum coverage of $25 Million
  • Flexibility with a wide range of term lengths and coverage amounts
  • A unique pick-a-term feature which allows applicants to define their length (or years) of coverage
  • Coverage flexibility allows one to structure a ladder strategy (only pay for life insurance coverage you truly need and manage down your average premium cost)
  • Riders: Customize the policy with multiple riders, both for yourself and for other family members
  • Term life policy is renewable through lifetime, albeit at higher renewal prices after the initial term
  • Answer just 10 questions to apply for coverage under $1,000,000
  • Online access to account
  • Digital e-policy

RBC Life Insurance Cons

  • Though RBC Insurance is one of the best options for most applicants in Canada, it is available to citizens and permanent residents only. For those in Canada with temporary residency status such as with a student or work permit, these products are not available.

Who is RBC Insurance?

RBC Insurance is the insurance arm of the Royal Bank of Canada, one of the country’s major banks and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. RBC Insurance was created in the 1960s and built up through a series of acquisitions: Ontario Loan and Debenture Company (formerly Ontario Savings and Investment Society) in 1968, Voyageur Insurance Company in 1993, Westbury Canadian Life Insurance Company in 1996, the Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance’s Canadian operations in 1998, and Prudential Canada in 2000. It is now the largest Canadian bank-owned insurance company, with over 2,500 employees.

Key facts about RBC Insurance Canada

  • When was RBC founded? 1864
  • Where is RBC Insurance headquarters? Toronto, Ontario
  • AM Best Rating: A (Excellent)
  • Better Business Bureau Accreditation and Rating: N/A
  • Assets: $15.1-billion
  • Annual Premiums: $4.2-billion
  • Website: rbcinsurance.com

Contact Information

Address

RBC Insurance
6880 Financial Drive
Mississauga, Ontario L5N 7Y5

Phone Numbers

Canada-Wide Toll-Free Customer Service Line: 1-800-769-2568

Website

RBC Insurance | Royal Bank of Canada Wikipedia Page

How much does life insurance from RBC Insurance cost?

Representative values, based on non-smokers in good health. $500,000 coverage, 20-year term.

Age Male Female
20 $32.18 $22.86
25 $32.18 $23.27
30 $32.63 $23.31
35 $32.63 $24.26
40 $47.61 $34.83
45 $75.42 $53.37
50 $127.44 $85.55
55 $237.69 $166.14
60 $428.63 $308.70
65 $703.85 $479.79

What types of term life insurance policies does RBC Insurance offer?

RBC Insurance’s flagship term life product is YourTerm. It offers substantial coverage with the flexibility to choose any term you want, between 10-40 years. This is amongst a select few products in the Canadian term life insurance market which allows the flexibility to choose a coverage length based on needs, instead of predefined terms. 

For instance, one can choose a base policy of 23 years to align with their outstanding mortgage term. It is exchangeable (a YourTerm policy can be exchanged for another with a higher term without providing medical evidence), renewable, and convertible to a permanent policy.

This product can be purchased on a single life or as a joint first-to-die policy.

There are a number of optional riders:

  • Term Rider: One can purchase additional term coverage for themselves or a family member over and above the base policy.
  • Children’s Term Rider: Provides coverage for natural or legally adopted children. Each insured child may convert this to a new permanent policy upon reaching adulthood, without evidence of insurability, for a sum up to 10 times the rider amount (with a maximum coverage of $150K).
  • Accidental Death Benefit Rider: Pays an additional death benefit if one dies as a direct result of an accident.
  • Total Disability Waiver of Premium Benefit Rider: After being totally disabled for six consecutive months, RBC Insurance will waive premium payments and policy fees for the remaining term of the policy.
  • Payor Death and Disability Waiver of Premium Benefit Rider: If someone other than the policyholder pays the premiums and they pass away, RBC Insurance will waive monthly premiums with some exclusions.

RBC Insurance also offers Simplified Term Life Insurance. This product provides affordable coverage with no medical exam, for up to $1-million. This policy can be converted to RBC Universal Life without providing additional medical evidence.

For both products, premiums are level for the entire term and end at age 100. You can pay premiums annually or through monthly pre-authorized debit.

Also keep in mind, because RBC Insurance offers best-in-class disability insurance and critical illness coverage (more on that below), you can apply simultaneously for multiple products and get a comprehensive financial protection plan through a single insurance provider.

rbc life insurance review

Coverage and policy details

  • Available Term Lengths: Any term from 10-40 years
  • Available Term Types: Regular and Simplified (non-medical)
  • Maximum Amount of Coverage: $25,000,000 
  • Renewability: Yes, term life policies are renewable once the term ends. Premiums will change at renewal, but are guaranteed to be level for the entire renewed term.
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What other insurance policies does RBC offer?

Besides term life insurance, RBC Insurance offers a wide choice of life and living benefit insurance policies.

RBC Permanent Life Insurance

RBC offers two different whole life or permanent life insurance policies:

  • RBC Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance. $5,000 to $40,000 in coverage is available without the need for a medical exam or questionnaire. You can apply for coverage between the ages of 40 and 75, and coverage is for life.
  • Term 100 Life Insurance. Though the term is in the name, this policy provides lifetime coverage, though you only pay premiums until age 100. $50,000 and above is available for the benefit amount; a medical exam may be required.

RBC also offers a participating permanent insurance policy called RBC Growth Insurance with multiple options for how one can access the dividends from the policy.

RBC Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance is like whole life insurance, except there is a self-directed long term investment component: your insurer gives you options for investing the cash value of your policy.

RBC Insurance offers the RBC Universal Life Insurance Plan. The policy includes lifetime coverage, many options for choosing how your cash value is invested, and a choice between level protection or an increasing death benefit. The increasing death benefit is great for those looking for a tax-advantaged method to access retirement funds when they have maxed out RRSPs and TFSAs.

RBC Critical Illness Insurance

Critical illness insurance is a living benefit insurance policy that pays out a tax-free lump sum if you develop a specified illness, health event, or undergo treatment while under its coverage, after a minimum of 30 days from when you are first diagnosed (90 days for cancer). This coverage is available for a period of time also known as term length, and you determine it when purchasing the policy.

RBC combines their critical illness offerings with disability coverage under the RBC Insurance Health Insurance moniker alongside Hospital Insurance.

RBC offers two critical illness policies:

  • Critical Illness Recovery Plan. This plan offers $25,000 to $2 million in coverage and includes more than 30 serious illnesses and conditions. It has level premiums to age 75  for the non-cancellable option, and level premiums to age 65 or 75 (guaranteed renewable).
  • Critical Illness Insurance Plan. This plan offers coverage in amounts of $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, and $75,000 and includes the most commonly documented illnesses in Canada – namely cancer, heart attack and stroke.

Both policies are available in 10-year terms.

For more information and an in-depth look at their critical illness coverage, read our RBC Insurance Critical Illness Insurance Review.

RBC Disability Insurance

Disability insurance (or income protection insurance) is a policy that offers you protection against loss of income. It replaces a substantial portion of your paycheque if you become disabled until you return to good health and resume work (or the end of your coverage period).

RBC combines their disability offerings with critical illness coverage under the RBC Insurance Health Insurance moniker alongside Hospital Insurance.

RBC offers seven different disability insurance policies:

  • RBC Simplified Disability Insurance. For self-employed and hard-to-insure individuals.
  • The Professional Series. For high-earning business owners, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals.
  • The Foundation Series. For small business owners, tradespeople, and skilled labourers.
  • The Bridge Series. Similar to the Foundation series, but flexible, cost-saving options.
  • Quantum. For professionals looking to protect the income that their highly-specialized skills make them.
  • The Fundamental Series. Injury-only coverage for self-employed, contract, and seasonal workers.

Retirement Protector. For those looking to protect the ability to continue saving for retirement due to the temporary setback of an injury.

RBC Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

Accidental death and dismemberment insurance (AD&D insurance) is a specialized form of life insurance whereby the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money to the insured or the insured’s dependents, should the insured die, or suffer a bodily injury, such as lose a limb, become paralyzed, or lose their hearing, speech or sight – all due to an accident.

RBC Insurance offers AD&D insurance policies they call Personal Accident InsuranceThis policy is only available to existing RBC Insurance or Banking customers. The coverage provides guaranteed acceptance for amounts from $50,000 to $250,000 between the ages of 18 and 69. One must keep in mind that this coverage covers accidents, and is not applicable if the person insured dies of natural causes like illnesses or diseases. It is an option for those working in high-risk occupations or those denied other types of life insurance coverage.

RBC Home Insurance

RBC Insurance offers home insurance policies for many types of dwellings, covering damages to the home and/or belongings, living expenses while your home is repaired, and liability claims for accidental damage or harm to others. RBC Insurance Homeowners Insurance is available for free-hold homeowners, condo owners, tenants, and seasonal and revenue properties.

RBC Car Insurance

RBC Insurance offers car insurance policies for a number of different vehicle types. RBC Insurance Car Insurance is their traditional auto insurance – including mandatory liability insurance in addition to optional coverage like theft and damage. As well, RBC Insurance has coverage options for recreational vehicles (ATVs, boats, motorhomes, classic and vintage cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, trailers, etc) through their Leisure and Lifestyle Insurance offering.

RBC Insurance offers multi-policy discounts if you are insuring more than one vehicle.

RBC Travel Insurance

RBC Insurance Travel Insurance has options for travellers to and from Canada:

  • Travel Medical for health emergencies that come up on your travels
  • Trip Cancellation and Interruption for situations where you need alter your plans, lose luggage, etc
  • Visitors Travel Insurance for those visiting, immigrating to, or studying in Canada from abroad.

These options can be purchased separately or bundled together as a travel package for a discount on the premiums.

Apart from insurance, RBC itself is a major Canadian financial services institution and offers personal finance products for banking, mortgages, loans, credit cards, and more.

How do I get RBC Life Insurance quotes?

RBC Insurance offers unique life insurance coverage products that are a great fit for many Canadian consumers. As insurance advisors for RBC Insurance’s life insurance products, we can help you decide if RBC Insurance products are the best fit for you.

As Canada’s best online life insurance advisor, we will assist you in comparing and choosing products across all our partner companies. Speak to our licensed advisors and we will be able to assist you in finding you the best coverage for your needs, including RBC Insurance quotes or an instant quote from several other Canadian insurance providers.

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By Jiten Puri
CEO & Founder, Insurance Advisor, LLQP
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