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BMO Life Insurance Review Canada
By Parvesh Benning, Licensed Life Insurance Broker
Price gets BMO onto the shortlist. What decides it is how fast you can get covered, and what you are allowed to change years later.
This review works from BMO’s current advisor guides rather than its consumer pages, and covers what a broker can actually place for you: how BMO term pricing lands against the other major Canadian carriers, the age and coverage limits that decide whether you get an instant decision or a nurse visit, and the conversion and exchange rights that only matter once the policy is already in force.
Updated: July 30, 2026
BMO Life Insurance Review Canada
By Parvesh Benning, Licensed Life Insurance Broker
Price gets BMO onto the shortlist. What decides it is how fast you can get covered, and what you are allowed to change years later.
This review works from BMO’s current advisor guides rather than its consumer pages, and covers what a broker can actually place for you: how BMO term pricing lands against the other major Canadian carriers, the age and coverage limits that decide whether you get an instant decision or a nurse visit, and the conversion and exchange rights that only matter once the policy is already in force.
Updated: July 30, 2026
Two files from this year cover most of what you need to know about where this carrier fits.
A healthy applicant in her twenties was approved for universal life with no fluid testing at all, and the contract was delivered electronically inside the same month. Separately, a client with a rare cardiac condition causing heart failure was in a position where a new fully underwritten application was, in my experience, close to a straight decline anywhere. The only thing that produced coverage was a conversion right sitting inside a BMO policy he already held.
Neither of those outcomes had anything to do with price. That is the part most reviews get wrong, including an earlier version of this one.
Where BMO prices against the rest of the market is covered further down, alongside a survey of every major Canadian carrier. The short version is that BMO sits at or near the front on term far more often than its reputation suggests, and that this matters less than the four items above.
What this review covers
- Who BMO Insurance is, and who underwrites the policy
- Where BMO is strong, and where it is not
- How BMO rates compare, and what matters more
- What BMO actually sells through a broker
- BMO term life insurance
- BMO permanent life insurance
- BMO critical illness insurance
- Does BMO offer no-medical life insurance?
- Applying with a health condition
- Contacting BMO, forms and claims
- What BMO customers report
- Frequently asked questions
Who Is BMO Insurance, and Who Actually Underwrites the Policy?
The policy is issued by BMO Life Assurance Company, a separate regulated insurer inside BMO Financial Group. That distinction matters more than it sounds. You are not buying a banking product, and the company that pays the claim is not the branch network.
BMO Life Assurance Company holds a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) from AM Best. In January 2026 AM Best affirmed that rating and revised the outlook on the company’s long-term issuer credit rating to positive, citing balance sheet strength assessed as very strong, strong operating performance, and risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level on its own capital adequacy measure. An outlook revision upward is a modest signal rather than a dramatic one, but it moves in the right direction and it is more recent than anything most reviews of this carrier are working from.
BMO writes life insurance in Canada only. There is no United States affiliate, and the company states plainly that this is why it cannot deduct reserves the way some competitors can. The practical effect for you is a hard eligibility rule rather than a pricing quirk. If you are not a Canadian resident for income tax purposes, BMO will not insure you, and citizenship does not change that. Newcomers are eligible, with limits that depend on immigration status, and I cover that further down.
Bank-owned does not mean the same thing at every bank
This is where BMO gets unfairly grouped with other bank insurance offerings. Some bank-owned insurers sell a thin shelf: a single term product, no whole life, no universal life, and no way for an independent broker to place any of it. I have written about that pattern in our TD life insurance review.
BMO is not that. It manufactures a full advisor-channel lineup, sells it through independent brokers, and competes on price against the biggest names in the country. Term coverage runs to $30 million. There is a bonus structure on the whole life plan that buys additional paid-up coverage each year, and a universal life product with genuine investment breadth. Whatever else you conclude about BMO from this review, do not conclude that it is a token insurance arm attached to a bank.
What BMO does not have is a broker-facing no-medical shelf, and that turns out to be the most common reason someone lands on this page and leaves disappointed. That is covered in full further down.
BMO Life Insurance Pros and Cons, and Which Ones Actually Matter
BMO can be a very good option for a healthy applicant who falls under the age and coverage limits and can get an instant approval. That is the honest short version. It is also narrower than it sounds, because most of what gets listed as a “pro” on review sites is table stakes that half the market offers.
So rather than a two-column list where everything carries equal weight, here is how I would actually rank it after placing this carrier.
Tier one
Reasons you would genuinely pick BMO
- A decision at the point of application. Submitted electronically and inside BMO’s accelerated limits, an application can return an underwriting decision on the spot. Those limits currently run to $5 million for ages 18 to 40, $3 million for 41 to 50, and $750,000 for 51 to 60, subject to change and to BMO’s own guidelines.
- Conversion rights that do not depend on your health later. Any BMO term policy can be converted to a permanent plan before attained age 71, for up to the full amount, with no new evidence of insurability required. I have had a client with heart failure get permanent coverage this way at a point where a new fully underwritten application was, in my experience, close to a straight decline anywhere.
- An exchange option most people never hear about. A 10 or 15 year policy can be swapped into a longer term without requalifying. The window opens at the first anniversary and closes at the fifth, so it is easy to miss.
- Index accounts inside the universal life. BMO is one of a small number of carriers offering index account options inside permanent coverage rather than managed funds only. For a long accumulation horizon that difference is worth understanding.
Tier two
Fine, but not the reason to go there
- Pricing. BMO lands at or near the front of the Canadian market far more often than its reputation suggests. The gap to the next carrier is usually small. Price gets them onto your shortlist and then stops being the deciding factor, which is the opposite of how most reviews frame it.
- Whole life. They have it, and there is nothing wrong with it. I do not place it, because I think there are better options in the market on death benefit and long-term cash value. More on that below.
- Critical illness. Available as its own policy or as a rider, covering 25 conditions plus 7 early discovery conditions. Competent rather than category-leading. If critical illness coverage is the main event, compare it properly rather than bundling it by default.
Tier three
Where BMO will not help you
- No no-medical shelf a broker can reach. This is the big one. If your health means you cannot clear full or accelerated underwriting, BMO has nothing for me to place. Those cases go to carriers built for them, and no-medical coverage from somewhere like Canada Protection Plan is usually the honest answer.
- Preferred rates are off the table inside the fast-track limits. BMO does not offer preferred pricing on applications that fall within its accelerated underwriting bands, even if you volunteer for testing. Worth knowing, though preferred classes are handed out sparingly right across the market. In my experience everything has to be near perfect: no family history, build in line, excellent vitals, no medication, no health history. Eligibility depends on the full underwriting profile and each carrier sets its own criteria. For most people at most amounts it was never a realistic path anyway.
- You can still get pulled for a medical. A share of applicants inside the fast-track limits are selected for testing at random. It is not a reflection of anything you disclosed, but it does mean “instant” is never a promise.
- Canadian residents only, and the longer terms cut off earlier. BMO insures Canadian residents filing as Canadian taxpayers. Citizenship does not substitute. And while a 10 year term is available to age 75, a 30 year term stops at 55 and a 25 year term at 60, so the longer options disappear sooner than people expect.
Read that list again and notice what is missing from tier one. Nothing about the brand, nothing about branch networks, nothing about a bank being a safe pair of hands. Those things do not change what you pay or whether your claim is honoured. What changes the outcome is how quickly you can get on risk and what you are contractually allowed to do afterward.
How BMO Life Insurance Rates Compare, and What Matters More
BMO priced at or near the front of the Canadian market in most of the profiles I ran, which is not what its reputation suggests and not what an earlier version of this page said. Across 802 quotes drawn from a 154-profile survey of the major Canadian carriers, BMO returned the lowest monthly premium in the category 42 percent of the time and sat inside the top three in 76 percent. It ranked sixth or worse in 4 percent.
That surprised me enough that I went back and checked the margins before writing any of this down. More on that in a second, because it changes the conclusion.
First, the pattern. BMO gets stronger as the term gets longer.
Share of surveyed profiles where BMO returned the lowest monthly premium
Canadian carrier survey, standard rate class, by product
There is a second pattern underneath that one. BMO also strengthens with age. In the 25 to 35 band it came out lowest in a quarter of term profiles. In the 55 to 65 band, six in ten. So a 32 year old shopping a 10 year term is in the part of the market where BMO is least likely to be the answer, and a 58 year old shopping a 20 year term is in the part where it very often is. Worth keeping in mind before you decide on a term length.
How this survey was run
Quotes were captured in July 2026 using Ontario as the quoting jurisdiction. Based on current carrier rates, illustrative only, and subject to underwriting and change. Results will move as carrier rates and product availability change.
Now the part that changes the conclusion
Ranking first and being meaningfully cheaper are two different things.
Of the profiles where BMO came out lowest, roughly three in ten were exact ties, usually with Beneva, Empire Life or Humania at an identical premium to the cent.
On the ones where it did come out ahead outright, the median gap to the next carrier was about half a percent. On a $60 a month policy that is roughly 30 cents.
So no, BMO is not cheap in any way that should make your decision for you. It is consistently competitive, which is a different and less exciting claim. Anyone telling you a carrier is dramatically cheaper across the board is either quoting one profile or selling something.
Here is what the actual dollars look like on a common shape of case.
| Profile | 10 year | 20 year | 30 year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male, age 30 | $22 | $30 | $43 |
| Male, age 40 | $27 | $44 | $85 |
| Male, age 50 | $61 | $121 | $234 |
| Male, age 60 | $192 | $398 | not offered |
| Female, age 30 | $16 | $20 | $32 |
| Female, age 40 | $20 | $33 | $62 |
| Female, age 50 | $45 | $82 | $165 |
| Female, age 60 | $144 | $280 | not offered |
BMO monthly premiums, $500,000 of coverage, non-smoker, standard rate class. Illustrative only and subject to underwriting and change. Your own rate depends on health, build, family history, driving, travel and occupation.
A couple of things fall out of that table that have nothing to do with price. The 30 year column stops at age 50, because BMO issues its 30 year term only to age 55 and its 25 year only to age 60. People planning around a long term in their late fifties often discover that too late. And the jump between a 20 and a 30 year policy at age 50 is close to double, which is usually the moment a conversation about what a 20 year term actually costs becomes more useful than shopping for the longest one available.
Which brings me back to where I started. Price is what gets a carrier onto the shortlist. Underwriting speed, the path to actually getting covered, the conversion options, and whether you can move to a longer term later without requalifying, those are the things that decide it. BMO clears the price bar comfortably. The rest of this review is about the parts that follow.
What BMO Life Insurance Products Can You Actually Buy Through a Broker?
Five: term, whole life, Term 100, universal life, and critical illness. That is the entire shelf a licensed broker can place for you, and it is worth being precise about it because BMO’s own consumer site advertises products that are not on that list.
The universal life is the one I rate most highly. It is a good thing to have sitting there as a conversion target if you start with term, and it works as a starting product in its own right for someone who wants the investment side. The whole life is perfectly decent too. I just do not use it, for reasons further down.
Three things the older version of this page got wrong
I am correcting these openly because this page carried them for a long time and people made decisions on them.
Term coverage does not stop at $5 million. It runs to $30 million, subject to financial underwriting and BMO’s own limits. Term 100 goes to $20 million, not $5 million. Those are not rounding errors, they are the difference between BMO being a serious option for a business case and being dismissed out of hand.
EasyOne Life and Guaranteed Life Plus are not on this shelf. They are real BMO products, but they are sold direct to the public and no broker can place them. Listing them alongside Wealth Dimensions gave the impression of a lineup that does not exist in one place. There is a full section on that further down, because it is the single most common reason someone arrives here from a search and leaves without an answer.
All five term lengths renew. The old copy said renewal applied to the 10, 15 and 20 year policies but not the 25 or 30. Every one of them renews to age 85. What actually differs between them is the age at which you can buy in the first place, and that catches far more people out than renewal ever has.
BMO Term Life Insurance, and the Two Deadlines Most People Miss
BMO sells one term product in five lengths, from $100,000 up to $30 million, subject to underwriting. Premiums are level and guaranteed for the term you choose, and all five renew afterward to age 85.
That is the brochure. Here is the part that decides whether the policy still serves you in fifteen years.
Two separate rights sit inside a BMO term policy. They do different things and they expire at different times. I have had clients discover the second one about two years after it closed.
What you can do, and when
Anniversary 1 to 5
Exchange to a longer term
A 10 year swaps into a 15, 20, 25 or 30. A 15 goes to a 20, 25 or 30. No new evidence of insurability. Full exchange opens at year one, partial at year two.
Deadline one
The fifth anniversary
The exchange window shuts. It closes sooner if you age out of the destination term. After that, a longer term means a fresh application and fresh underwriting.
Any time before 71
Convert to permanent
Move some or all of it into a permanent BMO plan with no new evidence of insurability, provided the policy is in force and within the conversion provisions. Priced at your age on conversion, not your original age.
Deadline two
Attained age 71
Conversion ends. You can still renew to 85, but renewal pricing climbs steeply. Converting at 55 generally costs considerably less than waiting until your late sixties.
Both windows run quietly in the background whether anyone tells you about them or not. Good argument for actually reviewing your policy each year.
Conversion with reset
There is a third option layered on top, and it is the one I reach for most on a real file.
Instead of converting the whole policy, you split it. At least half becomes permanent. The rest comes back as a fresh term rider at your current age, same length or longer.
Converting a full $750,000 term policy to permanent is a premium jump most people cannot absorb. Converting $375,000 of it and keeping the balance as term usually is affordable.
You still lock permanent insurability on half the amount without new evidence of insurability. One shot only, and only on policies issued from July 2019 onward.
Specifications worth knowing
The issue age ceiling drops as the term lengthens. This is the constraint people hit most often.
At 57, planning around a 25 year mortgage, that policy is already gone. Which changes the conversation about how to cover a mortgage properly.
- Coverage types: single life, two lives combined, or joint last-to-die.
- Riders: waiver of premium, accidental death, children’s term, business guaranteed insurability, critical illness.
- Single life only: waiver of premium and the business option cannot go on a combined or joint policy.
- Policy fee: $50 a year, reduced by $25 on a second policy applied for within sixty days.
One last thing on billing. Monthly is not the same price as annual. BMO’s monthly factor works out to roughly eight percent more across a year. Standard across the industry, but worth knowing before you assume monthly is neutral. More of that sort of detail in our guide to the factors that shape a term policy.
BMO Permanent Life Insurance, and Which of the Three Is Worth It
Three permanent products, not five. Universal life, whole life and Term 100.
The universal life is the one I rate. It works as a conversion target if you start with term, and it stands up on its own.
If you want
Cash value, investment choice, flexible premiums
Universal life
If you want
Guarantees, a fixed number of payments, no decisions
Whole life, but compare widely first
If you want
Lifetime coverage at the lowest permanent premium, nothing else
Term 100
Universal life, sold as Wealth Dimensions
What sets it apart
Index accounts inside the policy, not just managed funds
Most major Canadian carriers give you managed funds only. Over a long horizon that cost difference is worth understanding.
It is also one of the three carriers I look at first for corporately owned permanent coverage.
Whole life, and why I do not place it
Competent product. I do not use it. There are better options on death benefit and long-term cash value.
Here is the mechanical reason.
This is non-participating. The bonus is not a dividend.
BMO declares a bonus rate yearly and buys extra paid-up coverage with it. The rate is guaranteed never to be negative. The coverage it buys is not guaranteed.
A participating policy pays a dividend from a participating account. Different instrument. Compare a BMO illustration against a participating one from Canada Life before deciding.
Estate Protector
Built for long-term values. The estate planning version.
Wealth Accelerator
Builds cash value earlier. For liquidity inside 10 to 20 years.
Both carry guaranteed cash value from the first policy year, which is better than whole life’s general reputation.
You can switch to a longer, cheaper schedule after two years. One direction only, and it triggers a payout that may be taxable. You can also stop paying once the policy holds enough value, but that is not contractual and does not make it paid up. If values fall short, premiums resume.
Coverage runs to $35 million. Useful ceiling for succession and estate work if the rest of the product fits.
Term 100
Permanent coverage with the savings component stripped out.
You get
Level guaranteed premiums to 100, then paid up
$50,000 to $20 million, issue ages 0 to 80
Joint first-to-die and last-to-die, two or three lives
You do not get
Cash value
Policy loans or non-forfeiture options
A $50 policy fee. This one is $144 a year
One quirk in BMO’s favour. Term 100 is the only plan here where monthly billing costs the same as annual. On term and whole life, monthly runs about eight percent more across the year.
BMO Critical Illness Insurance, and Why It Underwrites Nothing Like the Life Side
BMO sells critical illness under the name Living Benefit, in four versions, from $25,000 to $2 million. It covers 25 conditions plus 7 early discovery conditions, which is a detail most summaries drop.
The thing to know before you apply is that none of the speed you just read about on the life side carries over here.
Applying for BMO life insurance
Instant decision possible inside the accelerated limits
Phone interview instead of blood, urine and vitals
Up to $5 million assessed this way at younger ages
Applying for BMO critical illness
Accelerated underwriting does not apply at all
Fluids, ECGs and a PSA test appear far earlier by age and amount
A pre-screening checklist exists because declines are common
If a critical illness rider is attached to a life policy, the heavier critical illness requirements generally govern the whole file. Adding it as an afterthought can turn a fluid-free life application into a full medical.
That last point catches people out regularly. It is not a reason to skip the coverage. It is a reason to decide on it at the start rather than tacking it on at signing.
The four versions
Living Benefit 10
10 year term, renewable to 75
Issue ages 18 to 65
Living Benefit 20
20 year term, renewable to 75
Issue ages 18 to 55
Living Benefit 75
Level premium, ends at 75
Issue ages 18 to 65
Living Benefit 100
Level premium to 100
Pays a maturity benefit at 100
The conversion feature, stated precisely
The 10 and 20 year versions can be converted to a permanent version up to age 60, with no new evidence of insurability required.
The converted premium is generally based on your age at conversion, not your age when you first bought it. What carries across is your original risk classification, and the rate schedule that was in effect when the original coverage was issued.
That combination can still work in your favour if rates have moved since, and it removes the health question entirely. But it is not a freeze on your original age. Confirm the exact basis against the contract you are offered before planning around it.
Miss age 60 and the option is gone.
Where this sits against the market
Competent rather than category-leading. If critical illness is the main event rather than an add-on, compare it properly against the carriers that specialise in it. Industrial Alliance is usually in that conversation, and our roundup of the leading critical illness insurers in Canada covers the rest.
Two structural notes. Coverage across all insurers combined is generally capped around $2 million on any one life. And for business owners, shared ownership arrangements change the economics considerably compared with buying it personally.
One clarification worth making, because it comes up constantly. Critical illness pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a covered condition. It does not replace your income if you are simply unable to work. That is what disability coverage does, and the two are not substitutes for each other.
Before relying on any of the above for a claim, read the actual covered condition definitions and any return of premium terms in the contract you are offered. Definitions vary between carriers and they are what decide whether a claim is paid.
Does BMO Offer No-Medical Life Insurance? Yes, But Not Through a Broker
I have access to BMO Life products. There are some direct-to-consumer products out there that I cannot place, and more often than not they are more expensive than what the broker channel offers.
That is the honest answer to why this page might not be giving you what you came for. The no-medical plan you found on BMO’s own website is real. It just is not something a licensed broker can put in front of you.
Why fewer questions means a higher premium
STEP 1
The application asks a handful of questions instead of a full medical history
STEP 2
The insurer ends up knowing far less about who it is taking on
STEP 3
It prices for the risk it cannot see, so the whole pool is treated as higher risk
RESULT
You typically pay more than a healthy applicant would through full underwriting
None of that makes these products bad. It makes them a specific tool for a specific problem. Many healthy applicants who can answer the health questions get better value going through underwriting properly.
What BMO sells direct
Guaranteed acceptance, ages 40 to 75
Health declaration only, ages 50 to 80
Questionnaire only under $250,000
Simplified term, ages 18 to 49
Figures as published by BMO. Product terms and availability can change. Confirm the current application and contract before relying on any of these figures.
The graded benefit nobody reads about
If you are looking at the guaranteed acceptance product, this is the part that matters most.
Policy years 1 and 2
If you pass away from natural causes, the payout is generally the premiums you have paid. Not the face amount.
Policy year 3 onward
The full benefit applies. Accidental death is generally covered from the start.
Two years is a long time if you bought the policy because health was already a concern. Worth understanding before you sign, and worth reading in the actual contract rather than a summary.
Where I would actually send you
It can absolutely be a fit where a guaranteed policy is genuinely required. But I do not work for BMO Life. I look for the right solution for the client, and if someone needs guaranteed coverage I am comparing that cost against the several options I have to compare to.
Carriers built around no-medical coverage often price it better and offer more steps between full underwriting and guaranteed acceptance. Assumption Life is usually in that conversation. So is the tiered structure most simplified-issue carriers run, which can find a middle rung rather than dropping you straight to the most expensive option.
If age is the driver rather than health, look at coverage designed for seniors before assuming a $50,000 ceiling is your only option. And if you are weighing a direct-purchase product generally, the same trade-offs show up in our Costco life insurance review.
Still unsure whether you need the no-medical route at all? Many people who ask that question do not. This is the honest test for whether it applies to you.
Applying to BMO With a Health Condition, and What a Rating Actually Costs
BMO will consider most conditions, and on permanent coverage a rating here is often cheaper than the same rating at a carrier using the percentage method. That second part is the piece almost nobody explains.
First, a recent one. I had a healthy applicant in her twenties get pulled for a nurse visit on a file that should have sailed through. Truth be told, no luck there. I pushed back, and BMO underwriting approved it without fluids. She was ready to have me move the application elsewhere if they had not.
Worth knowing that pushing back is sometimes the whole job.
How a rating is applied here
Most insurers express a substandard rating as a percentage and apply it to the mortality cost inside your premium. It raises what you pay, though not by the full headline percentage, because mortality cost is only one component of the premium.
BMO does it differently on permanent plans. It converts the rating into extra years of insurance age and prices you at that older age.
BMO’s published example: male age 55, non-smoker, rated 150 percent
Standard premium
$8,500
per year, age 55
Rated premium
$9,900
per year, priced as age 59
The 150 percent rating converts to four extra years of age. BMO’s own guide notes this comes out below 150 percent of the standard premium. Figures are BMO’s published illustration and will differ on any real file.
Two smaller mechanics attached to that. Anyone rated under age 25 typically has the rating converted to a flat dollar extra instead. And on term applications, a rating of 175 percent or less often goes straight through to issue rather than sitting in a queue.
Likely outcomes by condition
These come from BMO’s own field underwriting guidance. Every one is a starting point, not an offer, and the full file decides it. Each condition links through to the fuller guide on that situation.
| Condition | Tentative position | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| ADHD, adult | Standard may be possible | Stability, no time off work, nothing else alongside it. Anything else present often moves it to 150 percent or higher |
| ADHD, child | Standard possible if mild to moderate | Severe cases or other behavioural diagnoses are often postponed to age 16 |
| Autism spectrum | Commonly postponed past age 8 | A diagnosis inside the last 12 months is generally postponed regardless of age |
| Asthma | Mild to moderate, often standard | Severe sits around 175 percent and up. Smoking raises every one of these |
| Sleep apnea | Rating depends on severity | Your sleep study results and documented treatment compliance |
| Coronary artery disease | Often declined under age 35 | Generally postponed within six months of diagnosis or surgery. After that, 150 percent and up |
| Aneurysm | Usually declined if untreated | After successful surgery, a six month postponement then a rating often from 150 percent |
| Eating disorders | Generally declined under 18 | Over 18, stable normal weight for 2 to 10 years is highly rated. Beyond 10 years, standard may become possible |
Field underwriting guidance only, and subject to change by the insurer. Outcomes depend on the complete application and full underwriting. Never assume eligibility or a rate class before an offer is made.
Conditions BMO’s guidance covers that are not in the table above include other heart conditions, stroke, mental health diagnoses, diabetes and cancer. Driving history works differently again, and a charge versus a conviction are not the same thing to an underwriter.
A rating is not permanent
After two years in force
You can ask BMO to review a health rating. It needs a health certificate and whatever the underwriter requests. Improvement has to be real and documented, and a review is not a guarantee of a better class.
After one year in a safer job
An occupational rating can be reviewed once you have held the less hazardous role for twelve months. People almost never ask.
One structural note before you apply anywhere. BMO does not publish a height and weight chart, so there is no way to check your build against a table beforehand. That gets assessed case by case, which is another reason to ask an anonymous question first rather than firing in an application and collecting a decline on your record. If build is the issue, this covers how insurers actually treat it.
If the condition is the whole problem rather than a detail, start from the routing side instead of the carrier side. Our breakdown of which insurers handle which situations is the better first step.
Contacting BMO Insurance, Finding Forms, and Starting a Claim
BMO Insurance client services is 1-800-387-4483, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Eastern. That number handles policies bought through an advisor. Anything bought online through BMO’s own site runs on a separate retail line.
Most people landing here are looking for one of five things. Here is what each actually requires.
Starting a claim
Claims are handled through BMO’s claims department, reachable on the client services number. Beneficiaries also get free access to Empathy, a bereavement and estate service, which most families never find out about. Ask for it.
A policy that lapsed
Life coverage can generally be reinstated within two years of the lapse date, critical illness within one, subject to the contract. You need to be the same risk class or better than at issue, and all missed premiums plus interest have to be paid. Past two years it is a fresh application. What happens when a policy lapses.
You quit smoking
Twelve consecutive months tobacco and nicotine free, then a health certificate and a urine test. One catch worth knowing: if you were originally issued at a preferred rate, the best generally offered back is standard non-smoker. Preferred requires a brand new application. How vaping and cannabis are treated.
Changing your beneficiary
A change of beneficiary form. Straightforward unless the existing designation is irrevocable, in which case you need that person’s written consent. How beneficiary designations work and why the policy overrides your will.
Nobody is servicing your policy
This is the most common one, and the most fixable. BMO has no standard advisor change form. A signed letter of direction or an email to their agency services team is what moves it. You do not need a reason and it does not affect your policy or your premium.
The ten day window almost nobody uses
Once a BMO policy is delivered you generally have ten days to inspect it and cancel for a full refund, with the contract returned within thirty days. That is your one chance to read the actual wording rather than the illustration. If something does not match what you were told, that is the moment to say so, not three years later at claim time.
Which number you need depends on how you bought it
Bought through an advisor
1-800-387-4483
Term, whole life, Term 100, universal life, critical illness. Policy numbers usually start with 21 or 000.
Bought online direct
1-855-599-5928
EasyTerm, EasyOne Life, Guaranteed-Life Plus, insureNOW. Different team, different systems.
If you are calling because something feels wrong with the policy rather than the paperwork, that is a different conversation. Incomplete or inaccurate information given on the original application can contribute to a claim being disputed, particularly during the contestability period, and that is worth understanding before it matters.
And if it has been more than a couple of years since anyone looked at the policy properly, that is usually worth doing before you need it. Here is when a review is actually warranted. I am happy to look at a BMO policy whether or not I wrote it. Get in touch and send over what you have.
BMO Insurance Customer Reviews, and Why They Are Hard to Read
Almost every review you will find for “BMO” is about the bank, not the insurer. Chequing accounts, credit cards, mortgages, branch service. BMO Life Assurance Company is a separate operation with separate staff and separate systems, and it barely registers in that noise.
Which makes the reviews you do find close to useless for deciding anything.
Four questions to ask before you trust any carrier review
Is this about the insurance company or the bank?
If the complaint mentions a branch, an app, or a credit card, it tells you nothing about how a death claim gets handled.
Did this person actually make a claim?
Life insurance is judged properly once, decades after purchase, usually by someone who is not the reviewer. Almost no online review captures that moment.
Which channel did they buy through?
A complaint about an online no-medical purchase and an advisor-placed universal life policy are two completely different experiences at the same company.
Is anyone stating their methodology?
A star rating with no stated basis is an opinion with a number attached. This page used to carry one. It has been removed for exactly that reason.
The same problem shows up on every bank-owned insurer. It is just as hard to get a clean read on CIBC or Scotiabank’s life operations for the same reason.
An honest assessment instead of a score
Here is where I would actually put BMO, factor by factor, based on the documents and on placing their business.
What actually determines whether you have a good experience
Not the brand. Three things, and none of them show up in a review.
Whether the application was completed honestly and completely, because that is where nearly every denied death benefit traces back to. Whether the product actually suited the need at the time it was sold. And whether anyone is still looking at the policy five years later.
On the solvency question people sometimes worry about with any insurer, Canadian policyholders have protection that operates independently of the company itself. Worth understanding how that works before you weigh a carrier’s brand too heavily.
If you want the broader version of how to weigh any of this, start with how to approach choosing a policy in the first place.
BMO Life Insurance: Frequently Asked Questions
Is BMO life insurance any good?
For a healthy applicant who fits under BMO’s age and coverage limits and wants a fast decision, yes. Term pricing is consistently competitive, the universal life is strong, and the conversion rights are better than most people realise. Where it falls down is impaired health, because there is no simplified or guaranteed issue product a broker can place. This page previously carried a two out of five star rating with no stated methodology. That has been removed.
Is BMO Life Assurance Company the same as the bank?
No. BMO Life Assurance Company is a separate regulated insurer within BMO Financial Group. It issues the policy and pays the claim. The branch network has nothing to do with it. This matters when you read reviews, because almost everything written about “BMO” online concerns banking rather than insurance.
How much does BMO life insurance cost?
It depends on age, coverage amount, term length, smoking status and health. As a rough anchor, $500,000 of 20 year term for a healthy non-smoking 40 year old sat around $33 to $44 a month in a recent survey, subject to underwriting. Premiums roughly double every decade of age. The fastest way to know your own number is a quote across multiple carriers rather than one. There are also structural ways to lower the premium that have nothing to do with which insurer you pick.
Does BMO offer life insurance with no medical exam?
Two different things get called this. Through a broker, healthy applicants can often skip blood, urine and vitals entirely under BMO’s accelerated underwriting, with a phone interview instead. That is not the same as a no-medical product. BMO’s actual no-medical and guaranteed acceptance plans are sold direct to the public and cannot be placed by a broker. If your health is the reason you are asking, other carriers usually price that better.
Does BMO offer accidental death coverage?
Yes, as an optional rider on its life policies, generally from $25,000 to $500,000, available from age 10 to 60 and ending at the policy anniversary following age 65. It is not available where there is a hazardous avocation involved. A caution worth stating plainly: accidental death only pays if the death is accidental, which is a small fraction of how people actually die. It is a cheap add-on, not a substitute for coverage.
What is a BMO insured retirement plan?
An insured retirement plan is a concept, not a product you buy off a shelf. It is the idea of using a permanent policy as an alternative asset class and borrowing against it later to supplement retirement income. BMO’s universal life can be used this way. It suits people with a genuine insurance need, stable long-term income and real comfort with debt, and it is oversold to people who have none of those. Anyone pitching it primarily as a tax play should be treated carefully. Speak to your accountant before committing, and see our retirement planning overview for context. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.
What happens when a BMO term policy expires?
You have four options and only one of them is passive. Renew, and coverage continues to age 85 at a substantially higher premium set at renewal. Convert to permanent, but only before attained age 71. Apply for new coverage elsewhere, which requires being insurable again. Or let it end. Renewal pricing is where most of the shock happens, and the time to plan for it is roughly five years out, not the month the letter arrives. Coverage needs often change well before expiry too, particularly around major life events.
Can I move my BMO policy to another insurance company?
Not directly. A policy cannot be moved between insurers the way you would transfer an investment account. Replacing it means applying for new coverage elsewhere and qualifying again, which is a real risk if your health has changed since the original application. Never cancel existing coverage before the replacement is approved and in force. Changing the ownership of a policy is a separate matter with possible tax consequences and should be reviewed with your accountant first.
Where This Leaves You
BMO is a genuine option, not a consolation prize. If you are healthy, under their age and amount ceilings, and you want a decision quickly, they are worth quoting properly.
They are the wrong answer if your health is the obstacle. That is not a criticism of the company, it is just a gap in what they sell through brokers.
I do not work for any insurance company. I work for my clients.
That means when I run a case, BMO is one of more than twenty carriers I compare. Sometimes they win it. Often they do not. Either way you see the reasoning, and the comparison costs you nothing.
Going direct to one company gets you one company’s answer.
1-877-654-6119
Licensed for life insurance and segregated fund solutions in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Based in Hamilton, working across all seven.
Two things worth doing before you speak to anyone, including me.
Work out the amount first
Carrier choice is downstream of coverage amount. Get that wrong and none of the rest matters. Start here.
Match it to your stage of life
Term length and product type should follow what you are actually protecting. How that changes by age and life stage.
Already holding a BMO policy and unsure whether it still fits? Send it over. I will read it against what is available now and tell you if it is worth leaving alone, which it sometimes is. That review does not cost anything and it does not obligate you to move it.
We have been placing life insurance for Canadian families and business owners since 2007, including plenty of files other brokers had already given up on.
