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Blue Cross Life Insurance Review: What Most Reviews Get Wrong
By Parvesh Benning, Licensed Life Insurance Broker · Independent since 2007
The Blue Cross term policy sold online is administered by PolicyMe, and its sample contract only lets you convert to a longer term, not to permanent coverage.
What frustrates me most is the idea that Blue Cross is the best product, unequivocally. When a company only offers its own solution, that’s limited. Compared across the board, there are plenty of cases where another carrier simply fits better.
Updated: November 10, 2026
Blue Cross Life Insurance Review: What Most Reviews Get Wrong
By Parvesh Benning, Licensed Life Insurance Broker · Independent since 2007
The Blue Cross term policy sold online is administered by PolicyMe, and its sample contract only lets you convert to a longer term, not to permanent coverage.
What frustrates me most is the idea that Blue Cross is the best product, unequivocally. When a company only offers its own solution, that’s limited. Compared across the board, there are plenty of cases where another carrier simply fits better.
Updated: November 10, 2026
Blue Cross life insurance reaches Canadians through two very different doors, and the door you came through decides what you actually own.
When you go direct and only look at one company’s product, you get a very biased opinion. That’s not a knock on Blue Cross. It’s just how single-company selling works.
For the record, I don’t hold a Blue Cross Life contract. Most of my cases go to Manulife, iA Financial, Sun Life, Canada Life and Empire Life, so this is a side-by-side read on Blue Cross, not a sales pitch for it. If you’re wondering what that comparison work actually involves, here’s what a life insurance broker does.
Is Blue Cross life insurance worth it?
Blue Cross Life is a legitimate, federally regulated Canadian insurer, and its group coverage can be worth keeping. If you have a significant health history, staying with the group plan might make sense, because there are generally no underwriting requirements on basic group coverage.
The online term product is narrower. Its sample contract has no conversion to permanent coverage, and buying direct gets you one company’s price with nothing to compare it against. That’s worth checking before you apply, and a term life quote comparison across carriers takes about as long as the online form.
Online term
10 to 30 years, $100,000 to $5M, issue ages 18 to 75. See choosing a term length.
Conversion
To a longer term only, within the first 5 years. No permanent option.
After the term
Renews yearly to age 85, at rates that rise each year. More on when term insurance expires.
Ratings and protection
AM Best rating withdrawn in 2022 at the company’s request. Assuris protection still applies.
Product details are from Blue Cross Life’s published product summary and sample policy. Your issued contract governs. Subject to underwriting and change.
Jump to a section
- 01What Blue Cross Life actually is
- 02Pros and cons
- 03What group coverage does and doesn’t do
- 04Health conditions: group vs individual
- 05Who owns the policy, and why it matters
- 06Leaving your job: port, convert or lose it
- 07Who Blue Cross fits, and who it doesn’t
- 08When to add to or replace group coverage
- 09Common questions
What Is Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada?
Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada is a federally regulated insurer, based in Moncton, that makes the life and health products sold under the Blue Cross name. Six regional Blue Cross plans own it and handle most of the selling. AM Best described it as a niche provider next to Canada’s biggest life insurers, which is a fair way to see it.
Owned by six regional plans
Alberta Blue Cross
Saskatchewan Blue Cross
Manitoba Blue Cross
Blue Cross Canassurance
Medavie Blue Cross
↓
Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada
Makes the products and carries the risk
↓
Group and workplace benefits
Sold to employers through the regional plans.
Individual term and critical illness online
Underwritten by Blue Cross Life, administered by PolicyMe.
Is Blue Cross Life financially safe?
To be honest, I wasn’t even aware they’d pulled their AM Best rating, and it doesn’t concern me. Canada is a heavily regulated industry and Canadians are protected. Whether Blue Cross is the best solution for you is a different story.
AM Best
Blue Cross Life asked to stop participating in AM Best’s rating process in August 2022. The last rating before withdrawal was A- (Excellent) with a negative outlook. Some review sites still show a rating that is no longer current.
Assuris
If a member insurer fails, Assuris protects death benefits up to $1 million or 90%, whichever is higher. Here’s what happens if a life insurance company goes bankrupt.
Blue Cross Life Insurance Pros and Cons
The main pros of Blue Cross life insurance are no-medical group coverage through work and a quick online term application. The main cons are no conversion to permanent coverage and a narrow shelf of individual products.
“I can’t say that there is a specific client that I would recommend individual Blue Cross insurance to over a large carrier like Manulife or iA.”
Group coverage is a different conversation. That’s covered next.
What Does Blue Cross Group Life Insurance Cover?
Blue Cross group life pays a lump sum to your beneficiary if you die while you’re employed and covered under the plan. The amount is set by your employer’s plan, often a multiple of salary or a flat amount.
Here’s where it actually earns its keep. If a client has a significant health history, staying under the group policy can get them coverage at a much more affordable amount, because basic group coverage generally has no underwriting requirements. Outside that, I treat it as a base layer, not the plan. Some people with a pre-existing condition still find better personal options. Depends on the full file.
How far group coverage gets you
Example only: $90,000 salary. Bars are to scale.
Group at 1x salary: $90,000
Group at 2x salary: $180,000
Common rule of thumb, 7x to 10x salary: $630,000 to $900,000
The rule of thumb is a starting point, not your number. Mortgage, dependants and debts change it, which is why it’s worth working out how much life insurance you need properly.
Who controls what on a group plan
You control
Your beneficiary designation. Keep it current, and know the beneficiary rules in Canada.
The plan controls
The coverage amount, the plan terms, and whether the employer keeps the plan at all.
Watch for
Optional coverage above the basic amount often needs health questions, and late enrolment can too. Check your booklet.
You don’t have to choose one or the other. You can hold more than one life insurance policy, so group coverage and a personal policy can sit side by side. For a mortgage specifically, personally owned coverage usually gives you more control than bank coverage. Here’s how personal vs bank mortgage coverage compares.
How Health Conditions Affect Blue Cross Group vs Individual Coverage
On basic group coverage, your health usually isn’t assessed at all, up to the plan’s limit. On an individual policy, every condition below is underwritten, and the outcome varies by insurer.
!
Blue Cross Life doesn’t publish its individual underwriting guidelines. The right-hand columns show how fully underwritten carriers commonly approach each condition, not a Blue Cross position.
| Condition | Often assessed as | What moves the outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Type 2 diabetes | Standard to rated | A1C control, complications, age at diagnosis |
| High blood pressure | Often standard if controlled | Recent readings, other heart risks |
| Depression or anxiety | Often standard if stable | Hospital stays, time off work, severity |
| High BMI | Varies widely by build chart | Which carrier’s chart, related conditions |
| Heart history | Rated, postponed or declined | Type of event, time since, recovery |
| Cancer history | Waiting period, then case by case | Type, stage, years since treatment |
| No health issues | Best available class | Age, amount, smoking status |
Outcomes are illustrative only and depend on the full application. Always work through the application with a licensed broker before assuming eligibility or rate class.
If full underwriting isn’t an option yet, simplified issue asks fewer health questions, and guaranteed issue asks none but usually has a two-year limit on natural-cause death claims. Here’s how simplified vs guaranteed issue compare.
Group vs Individual Life Insurance: Who Owns the Policy
The real difference between group and individual life insurance is ownership. Your employer holds a group plan. You own an individual policy, and it stays with you no matter where you work.
There’s just so much flexibility with an individual plan, because you control that plan and it’s not based on the specifics of a group plan. Change jobs, go self-employed, retire early. The policy doesn’t care. Premiums stay level for the term at the risk class you qualified for when you applied.
One career, two kinds of coverage
Illustrative example, not a real client
Age 30
Hired
Age 38
Changes jobs
Age 45
Self-employed
Age 55
Still working
Group coverage
Personal term bought at 30
Gap: no group coverage
Self-employed? See life insurance for self-employed Canadians.
My gut reaction with any company that only offers its own product is the same. It’s better to work with a broker who can compare multiple providers. That’s not to say Blue Cross won’t end up being the one you use. It just shouldn’t be the only one you looked at. Locking in young matters too, as you can see in what a 20-year term costs at different ages.
Thinking about the Blue Cross online form?
Let a licensed broker put it next to other carriers on price, conversion rights and underwriting first. It costs nothing and there’s no obligation.
or call 1-877-654-6119
What Happens to Blue Cross Group Life When You Leave Your Job?
Your Blue Cross group life coverage ends when your employment ends, unless your plan offers portability or conversion and you apply before its deadline. That deadline is commonly around 31 days, but your plan booklet sets the actual date.
1
Before your last day
Pull your benefits booklet. Find the portability and conversion deadlines. They aren’t always the same date. Don’t wait for HR to remind you.
2
Inside the deadline, you usually have three paths
Port it
Keep some group coverage by paying the premiums yourself. Often a temporary bridge, and terms vary by plan.
Convert it
Switch to an individual policy with no health questions. Usually capped on amount, age and plan choice, and priced at your age then.
Apply personally
If you’d qualify on health, personal coverage is often cheaper than a group conversion. Worth pricing both.
3
After the deadline
Portability and conversion are normally gone. You’re back to applying on your current health, which may be without a job at that point.
From my files
I had a client who’d left a company with a Blue Cross plan. About 30 days to convert. Unfortunately, they’d left the workplace because of a health issue, and by the time they went to convert, they were outside the window.
It really hindered them. We still found the best option available elsewhere, but Blue Cross, in this case, was off the table because they didn’t convert in time. Same lesson applies to group disability, by the way. Here’s why group disability coverage might not be enough either.
What about the Blue Cross online term policy?
The online term policy works differently, and it’s the part most reviews get wrong. Based on Blue Cross Life’s sample contract, you can convert to a longer term before the fifth anniversary, without new health evidence. There’s no option to convert to permanent coverage.
Picture a 35-year-old buying a 20-year term. Permanent coverage at 50 isn’t on their mind. But health changes. With many fully underwritten term products, you can still convert to permanent life insurance years later without new medical questions, within the carrier’s age limits. Here’s how extending or converting term insurance compares across carriers.
Who Should Buy Blue Cross Life Insurance, and Who Shouldn’t?
Blue Cross makes the most sense if you’re keeping or converting group coverage and your health makes individual underwriting hard. For new individual coverage, especially if you may want permanent coverage later, comparing first is the safer move.
Any company that only markets its own product has a bias, and a responsibility to advertise it as the best on the market. That’s no different from carriers I deal with. But compared across the board, there are many instances where a different carrier has the better solution.
Quick decision path
Do you have Blue Cross group coverage right now?
YES
Is your health complicated, or has it changed?
YES
Keep it. Note your conversion deadline, and ask about no-medical options.
NO
Keep it, and add a personal policy you own.
NO
Might you want permanent, joint or business-owned coverage later?
YES
Look beyond the Blue Cross online policy.
NO
Compare its price against other carriers before you apply.
What actually decides it
Value
Conversion rights
Features
Underwriting
Those are the factors more in play than the brand name or the first-year premium. Approaching retirement after years on group coverage? Read the hidden costs behind common seniors’ insurance products before signing anything.
Some people end up with Blue Cross anyway, because it genuinely fits. Either way you’ll know, rather than guess. Get a free quote comparison or call 1-877-654-6119.
When Should You Add to or Replace Blue Cross Group Coverage?
Add personal coverage on top of Blue Cross group life when your needs outgrow the plan amount, usually at a home purchase, a new child or a career change. Replace it when the group plan shrinks, ends or stops fitting your life.
I lead with coverage you own, and treat group as the extra layer. Waiting has a cost too, because every year older and every new diagnosis changes the price. That’s why the best time to buy life insurance is usually sooner than people think.
Add on top if you’re…
- Buying a home. Weigh mortgage insurance vs life insurance before the bank offers its own.
- Having a child. See life insurance for new parents.
- Planning a job change or leave, while you’re still employed and healthy.
- Going through other major life changes, like marriage or a new business. That’s when to review your coverage.
Think about replacing if…
- Your employer cuts or drops the benefit.
- You’re retiring early and group coverage stops with the job.
- You’re separating or divorcing. Check what to change after a divorce.
- You want premiums locked in for the next 20 or 30 years.
This comes up a lot with people who’ve relied on employer coverage for decades and are now close to retirement. Our guide to life insurance for seniors in Canada covers what’s realistic once group coverage ends. Own the policy, control the beneficiaries, keep it wherever your career goes.
Blue Cross Life Insurance: Common Questions
01
Is Blue Cross life insurance available across Canada?
Yes. Blue Cross Life underwrites group coverage sold through six regional Blue Cross plans, and sells individual term and critical illness insurance online to Canadian residents. Plan details vary by region and employer.
02
Can I keep my Blue Cross group life coverage if I leave my job?
Only if your plan offers portability or conversion and you apply before its deadline, commonly around 31 days after coverage ends. Portability continues some group coverage at your own cost. Conversion moves it to an individual policy with no health questions, usually with limits on amount and plan choice. Check your benefits booklet for the exact dates.
03
Can Blue Cross online term life be converted to permanent insurance?
Not based on Blue Cross Life’s sample contract. It allows conversion to a longer term, with the same death benefit and no new health evidence, before the fifth anniversary. There’s no option to convert to permanent coverage. Your issued contract governs.
04
Does Blue Cross Life have an AM Best rating?
No current rating. Blue Cross Life asked to stop participating in AM Best’s rating process in August 2022. The last rating was A- (Excellent) with a negative outlook. Assuris protection still applies, covering death benefits up to $1 million or 90%, whichever is higher, if a member insurer fails.
05
Who sells the Blue Cross online life insurance policy?
The individual term life and critical illness products are underwritten by Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada and administered by PolicyMe Corp., according to Blue Cross Life’s own documents.
06
How much life insurance do I need beyond my employer plan?
A common rule of thumb is seven to ten times income in total coverage, while group plans often provide one to two times salary. Your mortgage, dependants and debts set the real number, so it’s worth calculating rather than guessing.
07
Is it better to buy from Blue Cross directly or through a broker?
Buying direct gets you one company’s product at one price. A broker can put that next to other carriers on price, conversion rights and underwriting for your health profile. Sometimes Blue Cross still fits. You just know it, rather than guess.
Comparing Blue Cross With Other Canadian Insurers
The way to know whether Blue Cross fits is to put it next to other carriers on your own age, health and coverage goals. That’s the whole job of an independent life insurance broker.
Protect Your Wealth has been independent since 2007, based in Hamilton, and works with about 20 carriers on life insurance and segregated fund solutions. If you want the broader picture first, here’s our guide to the life insurance companies in Canada, and a little more about how we work.
Licensed in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
