UV Life Insurance Review Canada: What You Need To Know (Updated!)
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- UV’s standout policy is its whole life insurance, which provides both a death benefit and a cash value accumulation feature.
- UV also offers riders that you can add to your life insurance policy, such as disability or critical illness coverage.
- Premiums for UV life insurance are generally on par with those of other Canadian insurance providers.
UV life insurance review (2025 update)
UV life insurance has customizable policy options in Canada including cash value, death benefit, and a combination of both. No-medical-exam options are also available with UV.
UV has been around since 1889, when it was founded in Quebec. It is now one of the best insurance companies in Canada with 260 employees and over 330,000 mutualists.
UV life insurance: Our verdict (3.5/5 stars)
Affordability
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Customer Service
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Industry Reputation
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---|---|---|
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)
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★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)
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★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)
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UV life insurance is known for its flexible policies and its rider options, including a complimentary severe loss of autonomy rider on certain plans. The company offers a mobile app and average premiums compared to other Canadian providers. It also has a long history of financial stability, according to its annual report.
Consider this company if you want a policy with a high death benefit or no medical exam—but know that not all UV policies are exempt from medical exams.
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 got a final, averaged score out of 5. We combined these three categories into a final overall quality score on a 10-point scale.
PolicyMe does not receive compensation for any life insurance reviews.
UV life insurance in Canada: Key features
In 2024, UV won the Employer of the Year award among small and medium-sized businesses. But here are three key features you need to know:
- 330,000 customers
- Mobile app available for iOS and Android
- Below average customer service reviews
UV life insurance pros and cons
UV is a trusted company for life insurance, but there are a few reasons it stands out from its competitors.
Pros
- Wide variety of options, including term life insurance and three whole life insurance plans (individual, joint first to die, joint last to die)
- Death benefit and a cash value accumulation on whole life policies
- Community-minded company that invested 10% of its profits in 2024 into community initiatives
- One of Canada’s Top 100 Small & Medium Employers in 2025
Cons
- Wide variety of options, including term life insurance and three whole life insurance plans (individual, joint first to die, joint last to die)
- Death benefit and a cash value accumulation on whole life policies
- Community-minded company that invested 10% of its profits in 2024 into community initiatives
- One of Canada’s Top 100 Small & Medium Employers in 2025
UV life insurance cost and value
The cost of life insurance in Canada depends on your lifestyle risk factors and the coverage you want. The average cost is between $15 and $70 per month.
At UV life insurance, you’ll probably pay slightly more for a policy with the same coverage amount compared to other major life insurance companies, like Sun Life, PolicyMe, and Manulife.
See how affordable term life insurance can be with PolicyMe
UV life insurance reviews and customer service
UV has a fairly unimpressive 2.8/5 star rating among Canadians on Google. One of the most common complaints is around difficulty contacting the company, with many policyholders saying that they spend hours on hold to no avail. Claims handling also seems to be a sticking point, with reviews noting frequent claim denials and questions going unanswered.
This company is not registered with the BBB, and we couldn’t find any UV customer service reviews on Trustpilot or Insureye.
UV life insurance products at a glance
UV offers whole life insurance, term life insurance, and critical illness insurance.
Here’s a quick overview of UV’s life insurance products in Canada, from term length options to premiums and additional perks.
Features
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Description
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Term length options
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10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years
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Coverage options
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Term Life Insurance (Superior+), Whole Life Insurance, AdapCI (critical illness)
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Minimum coverage amount
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$10,000
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Premiums
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Premiums increase at renewal. Approximate premiums are $22.50/month for a 20-year $500,000 policy for a 20-year-old female; $25.20/month for a 35-year-old female
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Renewals
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Every 10 years up to age 85
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Convertibility
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Term policies may convert to permanent coverage without medical exams
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Additional benefits and riders
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Extreme disability benefit, critical illness including Teladoc Services and 24/7 medical and legal support, accidental death and dismemberment, child insurance, credit insurance; no-medical-coverage options with instant coverage
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If you’re considering whole life insurance, UV offers five types of issue:
- Simplified Issue
- Express Issue
- Guaranteed Issue
- Instant Issue
- Regular Underwriting
A medical exam is required for the regular underwriting option and coverage starts at $150,000.
Simplified Issue offers up to $150,000 in coverage with no medical exam. Depending on the number of medical questions you’re willing to answer, you may be eligible for one of the other options.
How UV compares to other insurers
Let’s compare UV to three other major life insurance providers in Canada.
Feature
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UV
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PolicyMe
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Manulife
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Sun Life
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Financial strength
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Established
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Varies
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A+
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A+
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Term options
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10 to 30 years
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10 to 30 years
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10 to 20 years
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5 to 40 years
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Conversion flexibility
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Available
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Limited or digital specific
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Varies
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Varies
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Online experience
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Less than average
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Fully digital, fast
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Moderate
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Moderate
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Best for
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Whole life plans with flexibility
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Affordability, speed
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Integrated banking
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Advisor network
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UV life insurance vs. PolicyMe life insurance
Overall, PolicyMe comes out on top when compared to UV life insurance:
- Cost: PolicyMe typically has more affordable options, though it depends on the policy.
- Customer experience: PolicyMe wins with a 4.9/5 star rating to UV’s 2.8/5.
- Industry reputation: While UV has been around longer, PolicyMe has earned more accolades and received an A+ rating from BBB.
The bottom line: Who should consider UV?
You should consider UV life insurance if you’re interested in a no-medical-exam coverage, a high cash surrender value, or the severe loss of autonomy rider that’s included with many UV policies.
Skip UV if you’re looking for a whole life policy that offers dividends, as UV does not currently offer this type of coverage. Look elsewhere if you’re looking for affordable term insurance, with PolicyMe or Wawanesa offering better options.
Some UV products are not available in all provinces.
FAQ: UV life insurance
UV life insurance is good because it’s flexible and has a selection of optional riders to choose from. One standout is the company’s complimentary severe loss of autonomy rider.
You won’t find the lowest rates or the best customer service with UV; however, UV life insurance is good in the sense that it’s an established company with a stable financial background and diverse policy options.
UV life insurance is not a subsidiary or a merger with any other insurance company, although it did change its name from UL Mutual (Union Life Mutual Assurance Company) to UV Insurance in 2019. The current CEO of UV life insurance is Christian Mercier, and nine people sit on its Board of Directors.
The UV insurance headquarters is in Drummondville, Quebec, with an office at 1990 Jean-Berchmans-Michaud Street. UV is now a nationally recognized insurer with an emphasis on serving customers in Quebec and Ontario.
Yes, UV life insurance policy exclusions and limitations include suicide and pre-existing medical conditions. Some childhood diseases are covered, like cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. Exclusions depend on the policy you purchase and the waiting period you’ve agreed to, but these are standard exclusions for most insurers.
A medical exam is required for UV life insurance only if you’re buying a fully underwritten policy that exceeds a simplified issue limit. UV has several policies that you can purchase with no medical exam, and several others with minimally invasive questionnaires.
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Our mission is to empower Canadians to make informed financial decisions. To achieve this, we have an expert editorial team that includes licensed insurance advisors and financial planners. We prioritize the best interests of Canadian families and won't endorse any product, company or financial strategy that we believe isn't suitable. Our educational guides are crafted by in-house experts, like licensed life insurance advisors. Before publication, we subject our research and advice to scrutiny and comprehensive revisions for accuracy and completeness.
Our mission is to empower Canadians to make informed financial decisions. To achieve this, we have an expert editorial team that includes licensed insurance advisors and financial planners. We prioritize the best interests of Canadian families and won't endorse any product, company or financial strategy that we believe isn't suitable. Our educational guides are crafted by in-house experts, like licensed life insurance advisors. Before publication, we subject our research and advice to scrutiny and comprehensive revisions for accuracy and completeness.