No-medical life insurance comes in two forms, and the difference decides whether your family gets the full amount in year one. Simplified issue asks a short list of health questions, needs no exam, and pays the full benefit from the day the policy is issued; Humania’s IWME Life asks “only 6 eligibility questions” and issues instantly up to $1 million. Guaranteed issue asks no health questions, but caps amounts around $50,000 to $100,000 and pays only a refund of premiums if you die of natural causes in the first two years. A newcomer in reasonable health should start with simplified issue.
What is simplified-issue life insurance?
Term or permanent cover approved on your answers to health questions, with no exam, no blood test and no doctor’s report. Some applicants are declined on their answers; those who pass get full cover from issue. It suits newcomers who want cover in days, whose amount is modest, or who have a condition that would complicate full underwriting.
| Insurer (underwriter) | Product | Questions | Max amount | Issue ages | Issue speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humania (Humania Assurance) | IWME Life, Gold / Silver / Bronze | 6 online | $1,000,000 Gold (over $500,000 to age 50); $500,000 Silver; $300,000 Bronze | 18-70 for T10 and T20; 18-80 for T100 | “Issued instantly” |
| Canada Protection Plan (Foresters Life Insurance Company) | Simplified Elite Term; Preferred Term; Express Elite Term | Short health questionnaire | Up to $1,000,000 Preferred; $750,000 Express Elite | Not stated on the public page | Coverage can start in days |
| Assumption Life | Platinum Protection Term; Golden Protection Term | Health questions, “no medical exam, no blood tests” | $750,000 Platinum; $250,000 Golden | 18-75 Platinum; 18-70 Golden | Days |
Details from Humania’s IWME Life page, Canada Protection Plan’s no-medical page and Assumption Life’s term page, reviewed October 2026. Humania adds height and weight for amounts over $300,000, and questions on high-risk sports and travel abroad over $500,000. Its simplified-issue tiers carry 12- or 24-month pre-existing condition clauses, so disclose everything.
What is guaranteed-issue life insurance?
Cover that accepts anyone in the age range with no health questions, in exchange for a low maximum and a two-year deferral on natural-cause death. It exists for people who have been declined elsewhere or have a serious condition. It is not the first choice for a healthy newcomer, because simplified issue costs less per $1,000 and pays in full from day one.
| Insurer (underwriter) | Product | Max amount | Issue ages | First two years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Protection Plan (Foresters Life Insurance Company) | Guaranteed Acceptance Life | $50,000 (minimum $10,000 at 18-60; $5,000 at 61-75) | 18-75 | “Return of premiums if death occurs by other than accidental means in the first two years” |
| Canada Protection Plan (Foresters Life Insurance Company) | Deferred Life | $75,000 at 18-60; $50,000 at 61-80 | 18-80 | Death benefit “limited to a return of premiums plus 3% simple interest” for non-accidental death |
| Humania (Humania Assurance) | IWME Life, Copper (Guaranteed Issue) | $100,000 T10/T20 and T100 to age 70; $50,000 T100 at 71-80 | 18-70 (T10/T20); 18-80 (T100) | “24-month deferred period, no benefit except for accidents” |
Sources: Canada Protection Plan’s Guaranteed Acceptance Life and Deferred Life pages, and Humania’s IWME Life page. Canada Protection Plan’s Deferred Life asks some health questions and sits between the two categories; the public page does not state how many.
Which newcomers can use these plans?
Work and study permit holders, permanent residents and citizens, with caps by status. Visitors and super visa holders are excluded. Canada Protection Plan’s page lists applicants who are “a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or have a valid work or study permit”. Protect Your Wealth reports the permit cap there at $250,000.
| Insurer | Permit holders | Cap for permit holders | Excluded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Protection Plan (Foresters) | Valid work or study permit | $250,000 life, $100,000 critical illness | People waiting on PR with no valid permit |
| Humania | Permit valid 2+ years: no residency restriction; permit valid 6+ months: $100,000 | $100,000 to full tier limits by permit length | “Visitors and asylum seekers are not eligible” |
| Assumption Life | Permit valid 1+ years, not expiring within 3 months | $750,000 work permit; $500,000 study permit 18+; $1,000,000 provincial nominee | “Super visa, visitor visa holders and asylum claimants are not eligible” |
Permit rules per Protect Your Wealth, reviewed October 2026; confirm with the insurer at quote time. Humania’s January 2026 notice reduced its minimum residency period to two years and dropped the government-benefit test. Our eligibility page has the full insurer list.
When should a newcomer choose no-medical over full underwriting?
When speed, a short time in Canada, or a health history makes full underwriting slow or uncertain. PolicyAdvisor notes that adults in Canada under 12 months “applying for larger amounts usually need a paramedical exam plus hepatitis B and C bloodwork”. A six-question application skips all of that.
Choose simplified issue if:
- You have been in Canada under a year and want cover this week.
- Your amount is at or below the tier limits above.
- You have a managed condition, such as diabetes or hypertension, that passes the questions.
- Your permit is short and the insurer’s residency rule fits.
Choose full underwriting if:
- You need more than $1 million or your status cap at the simplified insurers is too low.
- You are healthy, under 45, and want the lowest 20-year cost.
- You want Wawanesa Life’s Foreign Nationals program, which uses a tele-interview in your language; see the hub.
Choose guaranteed issue only if you have been declined or have a condition that fails simplified-issue questions. Ask the advisor to run simplified issue first.
What should you watch for?
Three things. Pre-existing condition clauses on simplified issue, which can exclude a condition for 12 or 24 months at Humania. The two-year deferral on guaranteed issue, which means a natural-cause death in year one returns premiums, not the face amount. And honest answers: a wrong answer on a six-question form is still misrepresentation.
Super Visa Direct Insurance Services arranges life insurance with Canadian life insurers, including Canada Protection Plan and Wawanesa Life, through a managing general agency; our advisor disclosure explains how we are paid. Nothing here is advice for your situation until you have spoken to a licensed advisor. Contact us with your age, status and health notes, and we will say which route fits. For the application steps, see how an e-application works.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between simplified issue and guaranteed issue?
Simplified issue asks health questions, usually 6 to 20, and declines some applicants, but pays the full amount from issue. Guaranteed issue accepts everyone in the age range with no health questions, but limits the benefit to a return of premiums if death is non-accidental in the first two years, and caps amounts low. Canada Protection Plan and Humania sell both.
Do newcomers need a medical exam for life insurance?
Not for simplified-issue plans. Canada Protection Plan, Humania and Assumption Life all sell term with no exam and no blood tests, and all accept work or study permit holders in some form. Fully underwritten plans for larger amounts may order bloodwork for people in Canada under 12 months, per PolicyAdvisor.
How much can I get without a medical?
Up to $1,000,000 at Humania's IWME Gold tier (over $500,000 only to age 50) and at Canada Protection Plan's Preferred plans; up to $750,000 at Assumption Life's Platinum Protection Term; and $10 million on Assumption Life's FlexTerm, which states no medical exam required. Permit holders face lower caps: $250,000 at Canada Protection Plan, $750,000 at Assumption Life.
Is no-medical life insurance more expensive?
Usually, per $1,000 of cover. The insurer has less information, so it prices for the risk. For a healthy applicant who can pass full underwriting, the fully underwritten quote is often lower over a 20-year term. For someone with a health history or a recent arrival date, simplified issue is often the only option.
What is a deferred or waiting period?
A period, usually two years, during which death from natural causes pays only a refund of premiums rather than the face amount. Canada Protection Plan's Guaranteed Acceptance Life and Deferred Life plans both carry it; Humania's Copper guaranteed-issue tier has a 24-month deferred period with no benefit except accidents.
Can a super visa parent buy no-medical life insurance?
Generally no. Assumption Life excludes super visa and visitor visa holders, Humania excludes visitors, and Canada Protection Plan lists citizens, permanent residents and valid work or study permit holders. A parent on a super visa holds visitor medical insurance. The host, who qualifies, is the one who should hold life cover.
Talk to a licensed advisor
Mon–Fri 8:00am–6:00pm ET
Sources
- Canada Protection Plan: No medical and simplified issue life insurance
- Canada Protection Plan: Guaranteed Acceptance Life
- Canada Protection Plan: Deferred Life
- Humania: IWME Life (Simplified Issue and Guaranteed Issue tiers)
- Assumption Life: Term life insurance
- Protect Your Wealth: Life insurance for work permit holders in Canada (permit caps, exclusions)
- PolicyAdvisor: Life insurance for newcomers to Canada (medical evidence under 12 months)