Equitable Life Insurance Canada Review: Get the Facts (Updated!)
Equitable Life of Canada life insurance review (2025 update)
Founded in 1920, Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada is one of Canada's largest life insurance companies.
Equitable Life is a mutual company, which means it’s owned by its policyholders. They can vote on company matters and may receive dividends. In 2024 alone, Equitable Life paid $137 million in dividends to its participating whole life policyholders—and it has been paying dividends for decades.
Equitable Life currently offers term life, whole life, universal life, and critical illness insurance.
• Headquarters: Waterloo, Ontario
• It provides coverage to over a million Canadians
• $1.4 billion in claims and benefits paid in 2024
• $10.2 billion in assets under administration
Equitable Life of Canada life insurance: Our verdict
Equitable Life of Canada life insurance: Our verdict ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)
As one of the largest mutual insurance providers in Canada, Equitable Life combines a customer-first approach with its wide range of life insurance products to meet the needs of policyholders across the country.
Its prices are competitive: Equitable Life’s affordability score aligns with the industry’s overall average, and its rates for term life insurance are generally lower than those of big insurers, like Sun Life or Manulife. However, its permanent life insurance rates may be higher than average, mainly due to the complexity of its plans.
Its customer service scores are above average: Equitable Life’s service score is slightly above average, with mixed reviews from clients. With this in mind, one of the benefits of Equitable Life is its customer-focused online tools. Policyholders can log in to their Equitable Life profile through the company’s website to access their policy details, including balances, account activity, coverage, and premium payments.
Its industry reputation score is slightly below average: Lastly, their industry reputation score falls just below the industry average, but their reliability, trustworthiness, and overall market presence are notable qualities that make Equitable Life a popular choice for Canadians. Equitable life is popular in the group benefits space and among customers seeking permanent life insurance options.
Equitable Life of Canada life insurance: Key features
- Online tools: Equitable Life’s website provides digital resources for life insurance shoppers, including PDFs that detail their term life plan options and sample policy documents. Policyholders can also manage their plans through the company’s internal online portal, Equitable Client Access.
- Mutual company structure: Equitable Life is policyholder-owned, meaning profits are reinvested into the company for the benefit of its clients.
- Coverage options: Applicants can choose from term life, whole life, participating, and universal life plans. Policyholders can also add life insurance riders, such as critical illness coverage.
- Term life insurance policy options: Equitable Life offers single life, multi-life, and joint-first-to-die life insurance policies. Term lengths include 10-, 20-, or 30-year terms with optional riders for child life insurance or critical illness coverage.
- Unique whole life options: Equitable Life’s Equimax Plans are designed to meet long- and short-term needs for individuals seeking permanent coverage and investment components.
- Strong advisor network: Equitable Life works with licensed advisors to deliver, issue, and manage its life insurance products. Their advisors are known for supporting policyholders through every step of their life insurance journey.
Equitable Life of Canada life insurance pros and cons
It’s a good idea to look at both the pros and cons of Equitable Life’s life insurance before deciding if it’s right for you. Here’s a rundown of what you need to know before applying for coverage:
Pros
- Online policy management: You can view your upcoming premium payments, coverage, and other policy details through Equitable Life’s online client access portal.
- Estate planning option: Equitable Life’s Equimax Estate Builder plan is designed to help policyholders create an estate plan that will benefit their loved ones.
- Customizable plans: Plans can be customized with riders or added benefits, allowing policyholders to cover their life and health needs in one place.
- Children’s coverage: Equitable Life offers whole life insurance for children, which can be paid off in 20 years and provides a cash value component. Cash value built up from an Equimax plan can be withdrawn or borrowed against to fund a child's education.
- Simplified coverage: Equitable Life offers simple-issue whole life insurance, which requires only a few health questions for underwriting.
Cons
- Potential customer service issues: Some InsurEye reviews complain of poor communication.
- No online quotes or applications: Applicants must work with a broker to get Equitable Life insurance. You can't buy directly or get a quote on their website.
- Limited-term life flexibility: Equitable Life’s term life lineup is less impressive than its permanent products, especially compared to other competitors that offer lower rates.
Equitable Life of Canada insurance cost and value
Equitable Life’s life insurance rates are generally lower than the industry average, and they’re pretty competitive in comparison to rates from other reputable insurance providers.
To help you understand where Equitable Life sits when it comes to life insurance affordability, we gathered sample rates from multiple life insurance providers for 20-year term policies with $500,000 in coverage.
Key takeaway: Equitable Life offers relatively affordable rates for term life insurance, with below-average prices for both smoking and non-smoking individuals. That said, you could still save on premiums with providers like PolicyMe, BMO Insurance, or Canada Life.
Equitable Life of Canada life insurance reviews and customer service
We reviewed some of Equitable Life's online reviews to help get a better picture of their customers' experience.
Let's take a look:
"Over the years (past 20 years) we've been with all of the big Canadian companies (Sun Life, Manulife, Great West Life) and they were all ok but from a customer service standpoint, Equitable Life call centre representatives are the most knowledgeable and actually seem to care when one of my [employees'] phone's in." - InsurEye customer
"Have insurance for both my son and me, have found this company to be extremely responsive to my questions and see value & growth in our policies." - InsurEye customer
"Their policies are a lot worse than those of other insurance policies, for example: 90 days to submit all claims after you terminate (and who wouldn't). Their systems are archaic and when you call in, nobody knows how to direct you properly ... I lost 1500 because of their policies that they did not disclose until it was too late." - InsurEye customer on Jan 24th, 2017
Equitable Life of Canada life insurance products at a glance
Equitable Life offers three types of life insurance: term life, whole life, and universal life.
Here’s an overview of its term life insurance:
And here’s a summary of its whole life and universal life policies:
- Equimax Estate Builder (participating whole life): Provides lifetime protection and guaranteed cash value earnings with the benefit of guaranteed premiums. This permanent plan type is ideal for individuals with long-term goals who want to plan for their beneficiaries and protect their estate with tax-efficient wealth transfer.
- Equimax Wealth Accumulator (participating whole life): Offers higher early cash values with a 20-pay option. Coverage ranges from $25,000 to $10 million.
- Equitable Generations & Equitable Generation IV (universal life): Permanent, affordable insurance with tax-advantaged growth. Offers death benefit options, payment options, and investment account options for individuals seeking single, joint-first-to-die, or joint-last-to-die policies.
- Final Protection (simple issue whole life): Permanent whole life insurance that can be issued within 2 days to individuals between the ages of 40 and 80. Applicants only need to answer a few health questions to qualify for underwriting, and coverage ranges from $5,000 to $50,000.
Equitable Life also offers critical illness coverage as a standalone product or as part of a benefits plan for those with increased risk of pre-existing health conditions. EquiLiving provides a lump sum if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the 26 critical illnesses specified in the policy, such as cancer, stroke or heart attack.
How Equitable Life of Canada compares to other insurers
Equitable Life holds a solid reputation as a mutual insurer and provider of permanent life insurance, but it also has some limitations compared to Canada’s biggest names in insurance.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison between Equitable Life and four of Canada’s top life insurance companies:
Equitable Life of Canada life insurance vs. PolicyMe life insurance
PolicyMe scores higher than Equitable Life in terms of affordability, customer experience, and industry reputation. PolicyMe also beats the industry’s averages, reinforcing its overall position as one of the strongest options for affordable, digital-first term life insurance in Canada.
It’s also important to note that Equitable Life policies must be purchased through a licensed advisor, whereas PolicyMe applicants can complete the application process and manage their policy online.
That said, PolicyMe may be the better overall choice for individuals seeking affordable and fast term life coverage, along with the added benefits of digital policy management.
The bottom line: Who should consider Equitable Life of Canada?
Equitable Life may be a good fit if you want flexibility and performance from your permanent life insurance coverage, or if you’re looking for simple, affordable term life coverage.
Its permanent life insurance plans offer customizable features to suit both long-term and short-term wealth-building needs, and its term life policies are considerably affordable compared to competitors and the industry’s average. However, it's important to note that its permanent life insurance lineup offers a lot more options than its term life lineup, which may seem limiting to individuals seeking term coverage.
To find the best life insurance companies in Canada, we evaluated over 20 of the largest and most well-known insurers in the country using three categories:
- Affordability: To determine which insurers charge the lowest premiums, we gathered over 2,000 life insurance quotes. Our price data spans smokers, non-smokers, and birth sex, across six age groups from 18-70 and five products (including term and permanent life insurance).
- Customer service: To find out which life insurance companies offer the best customer experience, we averaged review scores from the Better Business Bureau, Trustpilot, Insureye and Google. We also counted the number of contact methods each insurer offers to its customers.
- Industry reputation: To ensure our recommendations were financially sound, we reviewed each life insurance company’s financial stability ratings from leading credit agencies A.M. Best, Morningstar DBRS and S&P Global. We incorporated Glassdoor reviews to reflect each insurer’s ability to manage and support its employees.
All three categories received a final, averaged score out of 5. After adding the results together, we had a definitive list of the best life insurance providers in Canada.
PolicyMe does not receive compensation for any life insurance reviews.
FAQs: Equitable Life insurance
Jaya is a researcher and writer with 3 years of experience in insurance and finance. She writes in-depth content that bridges technical expertise with accessible insights. Her work spans topics such as life insurance, health and dental coverage, car insurance, and financial literacy, helping Canadians make informed decisions about their financial protection. With a background in market research and editorial strategy, she collaborates closely with subject matter experts to ensure accuracy, clarity, and value in every piece.
Jaya is a researcher and writer with 3 years of experience in insurance and finance. She writes in-depth content that bridges technical expertise with accessible insights. Her work spans topics such as life insurance, health and dental coverage, car insurance, and financial literacy, helping Canadians make informed decisions about their financial protection. With a background in market research and editorial strategy, she collaborates closely with subject matter experts to ensure accuracy, clarity, and value in every piece.