Life insurance is a crucial aspect of financial planning, especially if you have spouses, children, or family members who rely on your support. But in a sea of life insurance providers in Canada, finding the right one can be a daunting task.
SSQ Life Insurance is a well-respected and reliable insurance company in Canada, offering comprehensive coverage and various wellness programs to promote healthier living among policyholders.
With a legacy of over 75 years in the insurance industry, SSQ Life Insurance has earned its reputation as a trusted provider of life insurance policies in Canada.
Whether you’re seeking comprehensive coverage, term life insurance, or permanent life insurance, SSQ Life Insurance offers a range of options tailored to your specific needs.
In this SSQ Life Insurance review, we’ll delve into SSQ Life Insurance, examining its offerings, highlighting its pros and cons ratings and reviews, and empowering you to make an informed decision to safeguard yourself and your loved ones.
What is SSQ Insurance?
SSQ Life Insurance is one of Canada’s largest insurance companies, with billions of dollars in assets. Les Services de Santé du Québec, commonly called SSQ, was founded in 1944 with its headquarters in Quebec.
The insurance company was founded on mutualistic values. All policyholders are co-owners and can actively participate in the business directions of SSQ to help it achieve its values of equity, solidarity, equality, and responsibility.
In 2020, SSQ Life Insurance and Quebec-based insurance provider, La Capitale Life Insurance recently announced a merger of their insurance companies under the name, Beneva. As of January 2023, the two companies have started operating under Beneva Insurance. The merger has created Canada’s largest mutual company with significant scale and market success.
Pros of SSQ Insurance
- The company has a long history of excellent services; it has been around since 1944
- It has solid footing financially, which gives you confidence that you are in good hands.
- They offer a wide range of insurance products
- They have a built-in Extreme Disability Benefit (EDB)
- They offer optional riders like child rider and accidental death and dismemberment
- You can easily access their services and your account online
Cons of SSQ Insurance
- The company’s website isn’t informative
- There are no digital policies and only paper policies
SSQ Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance products are for Canadians looking for affordable life insurance to cover only the years needed.
These term life plans are cheaper than whole plans and easy to understand. They offer coverage only for specific terms, with no added extras like the cash value component.
Term Plus
SSQ offers this product to Canadians seeking insurance coverage for income replacement, covering personal and business debts, and estate planning.
This policy is a traditional life insurance plan, requiring a medical examination to prove your insurability.
Features
- The policy offers coverage for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years
- You can renew your coverage every five years
- You can convert to a permanent policy up to age 70, but you will take another medical exam.
- It includes the insurability benefit feature, which allows you to increase your coverage by 25% or $100,000, whichever is less.
- It includes the total disability benefit, which offers you up to $250,000 of your coverage in the event of a total disability.
- It allows optional riders to enhance your coverage, like critical illness rider, accidental death and dismemberment, waiver of premiums, and others.
Simplified Term
This product suits healthy Canadians who want life insurance quickly but do not want to undergo medical examinations to prove their insurability.
This policy doesn’t require any medical exam. You only have to answer a few health questions.
Features
- The policy is designed for healthy Canadians who don’t want medical examinations but want quick approval.
- The policy doesn’t need an in-person meeting, as you can buy coverage over the phone.
- It offers quick coverage approval, as you can approve your policy within 60 minutes of applying.
SSQ Permanent Life Insurance
Permanent life insurance plans are for Canadians seeking lifelong coverage. These policies are designed for Canadians who want to leave a legacy for their dependents or special needs children.
These permanent life insurance do not have an expiry date. Your family and beneficiaries will receive the death benefit of your insurance policy regardless of when you die.
In addition, many of these permanent life insurance plans build cash value. However, the premiums for permanent life insurance are six to ten times more than term life insurance premiums.
Like other major life insurance companies in Canada, SSQ Life Insurance offers whole and universal life insurance.
Whole Life Insurance
This product is for Canadians seeking life insurance that guarantees protection, premiums, and cash value.
This policy also offers the Extreme Disability Benefit (EDB) rider, which allows you to receive a cash benefit of 50% of your coverage if you become disabled.
It also allows you to add other riders like child riders, critical illness riders, accidental death and dismemberment, and waiver of premiums to help customise your policy and buy more comprehensive coverage.
SSQ Life Insurance offers three whole life insurance products:
Whole Life 20
- It offers a guaranteed cash value
- It offers level and guaranteed premiums
- The premiums are only payable for 20 years. However, the coverage will last your entire life
Whole Life 100
- It offers a guaranteed cash value
- It offers level premiums for your lifetime
- It is available as an individual or joint policy
- It is a good option for Canadians who want to leave a legacy for their dependents and business owners who want to insure key employees.
Term 100
- It doesn’t build cash value
- It offers lifelong coverage
- It offers level premiums and death benefits
- It is available as an individual or joint policy
Simplified or Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance
This product is for Canadians looking for coverage but don’t want to undergo medical insurance. The guaranteed issue life insurance is designed for Canadians who are hard to insure because of a medical condition that makes them ineligible to buy life insurance.
Features
- The policy offers quick approval, as quick as 60 minutes
- It doesn’t require a medical exam
- There is no in-person meeting; you can easily buy coverage remotely
- For the guaranteed issue life insurance, acceptance is guaranteed if you are in the suitable age group.
Universal Life Insurance
This product is for Canadians looking for flexible ways to get life insurance coverage and accumulate cash value. The policy provides lifelong protection and cash value and allows you to invest your money as you wish.
The policy allows you to increase or decrease your premiums and death benefits within a specific range.
SSQ Critical Illness Insurance
Critical illness life insurance products are designed for Canadians with life-threatening illnesses. The policy provides a tax-free lump sum benefit to Canadians to help them focus on recovery after an illness rather than worrying about medical expenses and loss of income.
Life insurance policies do not fully cover you in the event of a severe illness, so critical illness insurance plans help cover the gaps left by life insurance policies. SSQ Life Insurance offers three critical illness insurance plans:
Basic Coverage
- The policy covers three medical conditions: stroke, heart attack, and cancer.
- It offers coverage for 10- and 20-year terms.
- You can add a premium refund rider to your policy. SSQ Life Insurance refunds the premiums you paid if you do not file any claim during the policy term before it expires
- It includes a built-in supplementary benefit, which gives you an additional payment of 10% if you are diagnosed with skin cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, or coronary angioplasty.
- It comes with an assistant benefit, giving you access to free services like a medical referral.
Enhanced Coverage
- The policy offers coverage for 25 medical conditions
- It offers coverage for 10 and 20-year terms
- You can add a premium refund rider to your policy. SSQ Life Insurance refunds the premiums you paid if you do not file any claim during the policy term before it expires
- It includes a built-in supplementary benefit, which gives you an additional payment of 10% if you are diagnosed with skin cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, or coronary angioplasty.
- It comes with an assistant benefit, giving you access to free services like a medical referral.
Children Protection
- The policy covers 28 medical conditions, the 25 listed in the Enhanced plans and covers three additional conditions: muscular dystrophy, autism, and cystic fibrosis.
- It offers coverage for 10 and 20-year terms.
- You can add a premium refund rider to your policy. SSQ Life Insurance refunds the premiums you paid if you do not file any claim during the policy term before it expires
- It includes a built-in supplementary benefit, which gives you an additional payment of 10% if you are diagnosed with skin cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, or coronary angioplasty.
- It comes with an assistant benefit, giving you access to free services like a medical referral.
SSQ Insurance Reviews
Here are some of the excerpts from some SSQ Insurance customer reviews on various online platforms. With these, you can also decide of SSQ Life Insurance is the best fit for you.
Positive SSQ Insurance Reviews
- “Every insurance company has negative and positive reviews, but SSQ it’s the best company I have been deal with ever. Great customer service and very helpful.” – InsurEye Review
- “My dad took a policy 30 years back with SSQ. He passed away last year. During the claim process, I found that it is very easy to process the claim. The customer service was amazing to deal with. I would recommend this company to all. I myself have a UL with them with great growth so far.” – InsurEye Review
Negative SSQ Insurance Reviews
- “Terrible company. Have caused me nothing but stress! I had a massage on 10 January with an RMT who has his own clinic. They say they do not recognize him. I have supplied a receipt from him, proof of transfer and he has emailed them twice with his credentials. Each time I speak with them I have to go back to the beginning because they don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m going to report them to the insurance ombudsman for their total lack of competence.” – InsurEye Review
- “4 weeks for a quote for the existing policyholder. The antiquated misogynistic practice of forcing women to identify as married or not (Mrs only option) in a complaint form!!!
Disconnected so many times and no callback. Service is reprehensible when they are looking for new business, can’t even imagine the horror if you need to make a claim.” – InsurEye Review
Final Thoughts on SSQ Life Insurance Review
SSQ Life Insurance is a reliable and well-established provider of life insurance policies in Canada.
With its long history of excellent services and wide range of insurance products, it offers a variety of options for Canadians seeking comprehensive coverage.
Its policies are designed to meet the needs of different customers, including those who want affordable term life insurance or lifelong coverage with permanent life insurance.
While its services have some cons, such as the lack of informative websites and digital policies, SSQ Life Insurance’s strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.
SSQ Life Insurance is a strong choice for those seeking reliable life insurance policies with excellent customer service.
FAQs on SSQ Life Insurance Review
What does SSQ insurance mean?
The insurance company SSQ was founded as the Coopérative de santé du Québec, which provided needed medical care to its members. However, in 1945, the cooperative’s name was changed to Les Services de Santé du Québec, which inspired the later SSQ.
What is SSQ’s extreme disability benefit?
SSQ’s Extreme Disability Benefit (EDB) gives you early access to your death benefit if you are diagnosed with a permanent disability. However, to qualify for the EDB, you must not need assistance performing at least four of the six daily living activities. SSQ provides this rider with term life insurance policies.
