Wawanesa Life Insurance Canada Review 2024

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Nishadh Mohammed updated on 20 December 2024

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Looking for a good life insurance plan with comprehensive coverage to protect you and your family? Consider Wawanesa Life Insurance.

With over 120 years of experience and serving 2+ million policyholders in Canada and the USA, Wawanesa Life Insurance offers straightforward term life and permanent life insurance. But is it the right choice for you? Does it meet all your needs?

In this Wawanesa Life Insurance review, we explain what it costs, coverage options, riders, contacts, and how to get a quote, helping you make an informed decision. Use our free comparator and see how it fares against other life insurance plans and get multiple free personalized quotes right here.

Wawanesa Life Insurance Canada: 5 Key Points

  • Reputed company with over 120 years in the market.
  • Offers term life and permanent life insurance options.
  • Life insurance coverage is available up to $10,000,000.
  • Multiple riders including child life insurance, critical illness, accidental death, etc.
  • An ‘A’ rating from AM Best ensuring financial stability.

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Our Wawanesa Life Insurance Review: Plans on a Budget

Wawanesa Life Insurance offers term and permanent life insurance products tailored to meet the diverse needs of Canadian families, individuals, and business owners. Their coverage ranges from as low as $10,000 to as high as $10 million, making them suitable for both basic and comprehensive financial protection.

Their term life insurance products include options like Term 10, Term to Age 80, and Term to Age 100, while their permanent life insurance offerings include Whole Life – Pay to Age 100 and 20 Pay Whole Life. With guaranteed premiums and flexible riders, Wawanesa aims to provide affordable and customizable solutions for a variety of life stages.

What sets Wawanesa apart is its flexibility in term lengths and the ability to convert term policies into permanent ones until age 71 without requiring medical underwriting. Their Whole Life policies also offer guaranteed cash values, tax-deferred growth, and potential annual dividends, making them ideal for individuals seeking long-term stability and estate planning. Riders like Accidental Death Benefit and Child Protection provide added coverage options, enhancing their appeal for families.

However, Wawanesa may not be the best choice for seniors seeking life insurance, as their term policies only cater to individuals up to age 70, while whole life coverage is available up to age 80. It also has no universal life insurance option. Compared to larger competitors like Manulife Insurance or Canada Life, Wawanesa’s online presence and digital tools are limited, making the process less convenient for tech-savvy customers.

Wawanesa Life Insurance is best suited for individuals seeking affordable term life insurance with renewable and convertible options or those looking for permanent coverage with added benefits like cash value growth and dividends. It may not be ideal for those over 70, people needing no-medical exam policies, or those preferring seamless online service and tools.

Expert advice

Wawanesa Life Insurance excels in offering reliable and flexible coverage options backed by its financial strength and mutual ownership model. While it caters well to families and individuals seeking long-term value, its limited online tools and higher premiums for seniors make it less competitive in specific niches. It’s a solid choice for straightforward and customizable life insurance needs.

If you want to see how Wawanesa stacks up against other life insurance companies, you can do it right here using our comparator below. Explore plans from the best providers in Canada and get free personalized quotes in no time right here.

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Pros of Wawanesa Life Insurance Canada

  • Affordable rates for both term and whole life insurance
  • Coverage up to $10,000,000
  • Minimal medical underwriting requirements
  • Multiple term and whole-life insurance products
  • Term life insurance products are renewable
  • Term life insurance discounts are available through layering
  • Comprehensive and simplified critical illness policies available
  • Strong ‘A’ rating from AM Best

Cons of Wawanesa Life Insurance Canada

  • No online life insurance calculator
  • No online application availability
  • Do not have a universal life insurance product

How much does Wawanesa insurance plan cost?

Wawanesa life insurance costs vary depending on several factors including age, health, smoking status, coverage amount, and type of policy. Term life insurance, for example, will be significantly more affordable than whole life insurance and the younger you are when you take out a life insurance policy, the lower your premiums will be.

Specific prices can only be obtained by speaking directly to a Wawanesa representative. However, we have listed a range of expected Wawanesa life insurance costs per month for healthy, non-smoking men and women of differing ages.

This table is based on a 20-year term life insurance policy with a coverage amount of $500,000.

AgeFemaleMale
30
$20-$25$30-$35
40
$35-$40$50-$55
50
$90-$100$130-$140
60
$300-$350$400-$450
Wawanesa Life Insurance Quote

Your life insurance premiums with Wawanesa Life will vary depending on your situation. If these premiums seem right to you, then try out our life insurance comparison tool to compare the best life insurance providers in Canada and get free quotes based on your unique preferences.

What types of life insurance does Wawanesa Life offer?

Wawanesa Life offers two types of life insurance plans:

FeatureTerm Life InsurancePermanent Life Insurance
Coverage Options
  • Term 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
  • Term to Age 80
  • Term to Age 100
  • Pay to Age 100
  • 20 Pay Whole Life
Premiums
Level, renewable, convertible until age 71Level, guaranteed, never increase
Renewability
until age 85Not applicable
Convertibility
Convertible to permanent until age 71Not applicable
Cash Value
Eligibility
Ages 15–80 yearsAges 15 days–80 years
Riders
  • Accidental Death
  • Child Protection
  • Critical Illness, etc.
  • Accidental Death
  • Child Protection
  • Critical Illness, etc.
Dividends
Not applicable
Wawanesa Life Insurance 2024

What does Wawanesa Term Life Insurance cover?

TWawanesa's Term Life Insurance is designed for short- and medium-term financial protection, offering flexibility and affordability. It offers three types of term life insurance products—Term 10, Term to Age 80, and Term to Age 100. The coverage is flexible and ranges from $10,000-$10,000,000.

The premiums are also guaranteed to mean that once your insurance has started the premiums will not increase for the remainder of the term.

Wawanesa’s term life insurance is renewable every 10 years after the initial term ends, up to the age of 85. After that, one final renewal can be made to the age of 100, after which the insurance coverage will continue without any extra premium payments.

Key features of Wawanesa Term Life Insurance are:

  • Affordable, simple, and easily understood
  • No policy fees
  • Coverage ranges from $10,000-$10,000,000
  • Premiums are guaranteed
  • Variable term lengths to suit all needs
  • Lifetime terms can be renewed every 10 years
  • Policies are convertible to permanent life insurance plans until age 71 without medical underwriting

Good to know

Temporary or term life insurance is usually affordable. It’s an easy option for individuals who want to secure their families’ futures for a specific time and a specific amount but with a limited budget. Since the temporary life insurance products have an expiry date, it is possible to outlive the insurance without receiving any payout.

If you want to explore other term life insurance plans from other providers, you can do it right here using our comparator below. Compare multiple plans and get free personalized quotes in no time.

Compare the top term life insurance options today

Request term life insurance quotes

What does Wawanesa Whole Life insurance cover?

Wawanesa Life offers two whole life insurance products: Whole Life – Pay to Age 100 or 20 Pay Whole Life. Both of these life insurance products offer whole life cover subject to premium payment, with the only difference being how long you have to pay premiums.

With Whole Life – Pay to Age 100 you will have to pay premiums until age 100, and with 20 Pay Whole Life you only pay premiums for 20 years but the premiums will be higher.

Key features of Wawanesa Whole Life Insurance are:

  • No policy fees
  • Coverage ranges from $10,000-$10,000,000
  • Premiums are guaranteed
  • Premium payment options of either 20 years or up to the age of 100
  • Continued coverage after 100 years of age without additional premiums
  • Annual dividends (not guaranteed)
  • Paid-Up additions available
  • Guaranteed cash surrender value after 5 years
  • Policy loan available

Good to know

Permanent life insurance is a good solution for anyone wanting an open-ended length of insurance coverage and a guaranteed legacy to leave for their children and grandchildren.

What types of add-ons does Wawanesa life insurance offer?

Wawanesa Life offers several add-ons to their whole and term life insurance products. An insurance add-on is also known as a ‘rider’ and the availabilities of riders vary depending on the insurance policy.

The following table shows which add-ons are available on Wawanesa Life’s insurance products.

Insurance typeTerm Life InsuranceWhole Life Insurance
Accidental Death Benefit
Child Protection
Child Critical Illness
Disability Waiver of Premium

(only available on juvenile policies)
Mortgage Protection
Wawanesa life insurance types

If you want to explore the best life insurance options with the most comprehensive coverage and add-ons, use our comparator tool below. Compare plans and get free personalized quotes in seconds.

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Does Wawanesa life insurance require a medical exam?

Wawanesa Life may require a medical exam for life insurance coverage but the requirement depends on your age, type of application process, insurance product, and the coverage amount.

See the maximum medical exam and underwriting requested for Wawanesa Life’s whole life insurance below:

Age and
application type
<$500k$500k to 1.5M$1.5M to $3M$3M
18-45
Quick App + Tele
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
18-45
Full Application
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
46-60
Quick App + Tele
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
46-60
Full Application
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
61-70
Quick App + Tele
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
61-70
Full Application
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
Medical underwriting requirements for Wawanesa Whole Life Insurance

Below you can see a table for the maximum medical exam and underwriting requested for Wawanesa Life’s Term Life insurance.

Age and
application type
<$500k$500k to 3M$3M
0-45
Quick App + Tele
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
0-45
Full Application
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
46-60
Quick App + Tele
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
46-60
Full Application
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
61-70
Quick App + Tele
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Vitals
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
61-70
Full Application
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Paramedical Exam
  • Blood Profile
  • EKG
  • Comprehensive Medical
  • Financial Questionnaire
Medical underwriting requirements for Wawanesa Term Life Insurance

How to get a Wawanesa life insurance quote?

Before requesting a quote from Wawanesa Life, we recommend that you compare quotes from more than 20 of Canada’s leading life insurers to make sure you get the best rates.

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To get a Wawanesa Life insurance quote you may also contact them directly or request a quote through a local advisor. All the contact details for Wawanesa Life are listed below.

Wawanesa Life Contact Details
Address

400 - 200 Main Street Winnipeg, MB R3C 1A8
Telephone
(204) 985-3940
Toll-Free
1-888-997-9965
Fax
1-888-985-3872
Email
[email protected]
Customer Service for Local Advisor
1-800-263-6785
Wawanesa Life contact information

Does Wawanesa offer life insurance discounts?

Wawanesa Life does offer a form of discount on their term life insurance products by way of layering. When layering, an individual can include up to 4 add-ons to their base life insurance policy and the combination of the various term lengths of all the coverages leads the policyholder to receive volume discounts.

As with most providers, it's cheaper to get multiple types of insurance at once than to buy separate policies.

Is there a Wawanesa Life insurance calculator?

Wawanesa Life does not have an online life insurance calculator like many other insurance providers. However, you can use HelloSafe’s life insurance calculator to figure out how much life insurance you can get, and use our comparison table to compare Canada’s life insurance providers!

Is there a Wawanesa Life insurance app?

Wawanesa Life does not have any mobile application available to its individual or group policyholders. If you want to review your insurance policy, contact Wawanesa Life through the contact details listed above, or speak directly to your insurance advisor if you have one.

How to contact Wawanesa Life Insurance customer service?

Wawanesa Life can be contacted for general queries and claims using the following contact details.

InquiryTelephoneEmailFax
General Customer Queries
1-800-263-6785[email protected]
Individual Life Insurance & Critical Illness Insurance Claims
1-844-318-0411[email protected]1-855-496-3028
Wawanesa Life Insurance customer service contacts

Wawanesa Life offers ongoing customer service and support to all of its policyholders and their office hours are Monday - Friday 7:30 am to 7:30 pm central time. The customer support team is dedicated to providing all clients with claim help as well as simply answering questions about your insurance policy.

FAQs on Wawanesa Life Insurance

Is Wawanesa a good insurance company?

Objectively, Wawanesa is a good insurance company in Canada as they have been given an A rating from AM Best. This rating is important because it indicates that the company is financially strong and more likely to withstand financial headwinds compared to companies with lower ratings. As such, Wawanesa Life can be considered to be more likely to meet its obligations to policyholders when compared to lower-rated providers.

Who owns Wawanesa Insurance Company?

Wawanesa Insurance Company, based in Canada, is mutually owned. This means it is owned by its policyholders rather than shareholders. As a mutual company, Wawanesa prioritizes the interests and benefits of its policyholders, often focusing on providing competitive rates and high-quality service over generating profits for investors. Founded in 1896 in Wawanesa, Manitoba, the company has grown to become one of the largest mutual insurers in Canada.

Is Wawanesa life insurance a good option for seniors in Canada? 

Wawanesa Life insurance is a good option for senior citizens in Canada simply because coverage is available to them up to the age of 70 for term life insurance, and up to the age of 80 for whole life insurance. However, the premiums may be expensive depending on an individual's exact age and health at the time of application. Life insurance rates rise with age. There are next to no online customer reviews for Wawanesa Life, nor does the company have much of an online presence in terms of social media. All contact with the company goes through the contact details recorded above, or through a local advisor.

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Nishadh Mohammed
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Nishadh Mohammed is a seasoned news editor and financial writer, working with HelloSafe since May 2023. Nishadh has developed expertise in financial markets, insurance, and investment products, with a deep understanding of the Canadian financial landscape. He has honed his SEO skills and content marketing strategies while writing for Canadian publishing houses. Armed with a master's in Business Analytics and extensive journalistic experience, Nishadh uniquely combines data proficiency and thorough research to deliver comprehensive and accessible information.