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Q: Can Great-West Life cancel your life insurance?

Yes, any life insurance company can cancel your policy if they discover you lied about a risk factor, such as smoking or going skydiving, or you miss a payment. If you have a universal life insurance policy with a built-in cash value, your insurance company could pull from this amount to cover any missing payments. If you missed a payment, read " How to get your life insurance reinstated ".

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Great-West Life insurance

Matt Hands, VP, Insurance and MoneySense

October 5, 2023

Great-West Life (Canada Life) is the third-largest life insurance company in Canada. It's the smallest of the big three Canadian insurance providers, behind Manulife and Sun Life. It’s currently rebranding as Canada Life, which brings together include Great-West Life, London Life Insurance Company, and Canada Life Financial.

A few things we're proud of

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11 years
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Over 1M
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to Canada’s top financial institutions

Great-West Life history

The earliest Great-West Life brand was the Canada Life Insurance Company, founded in Hamilton, Ontario in 1847, followed by London Life, which was founded in 1874. The Great-West Life Assurance Company was founded in Winnipeg in 1891, was the only Canadian life insurance provider based in Western Canada at the time. Great-West Life (Canada Life) is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Great-West Life insurance products

Great-West Life offers a large selection of life insurance products, including term life insurance, participating life insurance, and universal life insurance.

Great-West term life insurance is available in 10 or 20 year terms, renewable until age 85. Term life insurance policies may also be convertible to permanent life insurance at the end of each term.

Participating life insurance from Great-West is a standard, participating life insurance policy, with increasing, set, or limited payment options available. Great-West doesn’t offer non-participating whole life insurance.

Great-West universal life insurance combines permanent life insurance with a tax-advantaged investment account, and provides the most flexibility possible on a permanent life insurance policy. Both set and limited payment options are available.

Great-West life insurance also offers life insurance-adjacent products, including disability insurance and critical illness insurance. These can be purchased alongside a life insurance policy or separately. Great-West critical illness insurance also offers a return of premium options, returning up to 100% of premiums to you if you don’t make a claim.

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Life insurance is individually specific, and you won't know what policies and rates you're eligible for until you receive multiple quotes. Receive quotes today to make the right decision when you're ready.

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Pros and cons of Great-West Life insurance

Great-West life insurance pros

Like the other big three life insurance companies, Great-West Life (Canada Life) has a highly sophisticated options for permanent life insurance.
Offers critical Illness coverage with a return of premium option

Great-West life insurance cons

Being the smallest of the big three Canadian life insurance companies, Great-West has less product variety compared to Sun Life and Manulife
Does not offer a non-participating whole life insurance policy
Does not offer a Term-to-100 life insurance policy

Great-West Life credit ratings

Great-West Life (Canada Life) has received excellent ratings from all of the major credit ratings agencies:

Standard and Poor’s: AA (Very strong)
Moody’s: AA3 (High quality)
A.M. Best: A+ (Superior)
DBRS: AA (Excellent)

Ratehub.ca is not affiliated or otherwise associated with Hub International Canada.

Questions about Great-West Life insurance

Can Great-West Life cancel your life insurance?

How do I cancel my Great-West Life insurance?

Cancelling your life insurance policy can be done at any time, but it's not always easy to get coverage again, so be sure to consider your options carefully before proceeding. Ask yourself why you signed up for life insurance to begin with - did your family need protection? Do you still have any remaining mortgage debt? You can also look at options to lower the cost of your life insurance, instead of cancelling completely, by switching over to term life insurance or improving your health.

For more details, read "When can I cancel my life insurance?"

Is Great-West Life insurance good?

Yes, Great-West Life insurance can be good, depending on your personal needs. As one of the leading life insurers in Canada, Great-West Life offers highly sophisticated options for permanent life insurance. However, the cost of insurance varies between each life insurance company and your desired package, so it's always a good idea to compare quotes to look at all your available options. That way, you'll be able to find the company that fulfills your needs at the best rate and value.

Matt Hands, Business Director of Insurance

With 6+ years of experience at Ratehub.ca, Matt’s focus has been on growing its newest business unit, Insurance. He is a thought leader and a valuable resource to respected publications across Canada. read full bio

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