Foresters Life Insurance has been around for about a century and a half and has subsidiaries all over the globe, including Canada. The insurance provider offers a number of life insurance policies and options, as well as retirement, savings, and investment products. Foresters currently has more than 3 million clients across Canada, the US, and the UK.
If you’re looking for a life insurance policy to cover your loved ones after your passing, Foresters Life Insurance has plenty of options for you to create a customized plan.
How Does Foresters Life Insurance Work?
Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Foresters works a little differently than other life insurance companies. It’s a non-profit fraternal benefit society that is made up of members who receive benefits from their policies rather than actual policyholders. Members can benefit from perks such as financial advice and post-secondary education scholarships.
That said, its life insurance policies work much like other providers in that a death benefit will be paid out to your beneficiaries upon your passing in exchange for regular premium payments.
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READ ARTICLEWhat Kind Of Life Insurance Does Foresters Offer?
No matter your financial situation, Foresters Insurance has a variety of life insurance policies to help cover your lifestyle.
Term Life Insurance
A term life insurance policy is a more affordable option for those who are looking for coverage during their working years when bills and debt levels are at their highest. These plans are more cost-effective than permanent policies because they are not designed to last forever. Rather, term policies last for a specified period of time.
Term coverage is useful if you only require coverage while there are dependents in your home who rely on you for your income. If you passed away during this time frame, your family would receive a payout that can be used to pay some of life’s biggest expenses, including your mortgage.
Term life insurance requires fixed premium payments in exchange for a fixed death benefit over a specified period of time. Your premium is guaranteed and will not change over the term you choose.
Foresters Insurance offers terms of 10, 20, and 30 years. Generally speaking, longer terms are more expensive than shorter terms. You can choose the term that best suits your needs and budget.
When your term comes to an end, you can always renew your policy or convert your term policy to a permanent policy without having to go through the hassle of providing additional proof of insurability as you did when you first took out your insurance plan.
Term 10
- Available to applicants between 18 to 75 years of age
- Automatic renewal after 10 years
- Coverage between $100,000 to $5 million
Term 20
- Available to applicants between 18 to 65 years of age
- Automatic renewal after 20 years
- Coverage between $100,000 to $5 million
Term 30
- Available to applicants between 18 to 55 years of age
- Automatic renewal after 30 years, with 5-year terms available following the expiration of the original term
- Coverage between $50,000 to $5 million
Check out if you should choose term life insurance or whole life insurance.
Whole Life Insurance
Also referred to as ‘permanent life insurance,’ a whole life insurance policy is designed to last your entire life, regardless of when you pass away. As long as your policy is active and you’ve kept up with premium payments, your beneficiaries will be paid out a death benefit upon your passing.
There is no fixed term and premiums are guaranteed not to increase over the life of the contract. Whole life insurance policies can either be participating or non-participating:
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Participating Life Insurance
A participating life insurance policy is one in which policyholders may receive dividends. Foresters offers its Advantage Plus Whole Life policy that pays out a death benefit to your named beneficiaries. Your policy will also include a cash value portion that is guaranteed for your lifetime.
Advantage Plus Whole Life is a participating permanent policy that has the potential for dividend payouts. You can use these dividends to put towards your premiums, to buy additional insurance and build on the cash value of your policy, or be paid out in cash. Otherwise, you can simply leave the dividends deposited in your plan to collect interest and let the funds grow over time.
Non-Participating Life Insurance
A non-participating life insurance policy is one in which policyholders do not receive dividend payouts. Premiums are usually lower than participating life insurance policies as a result.
Foresters’ non-participating whole life insurance policy comes with a tax-free death benefit, guaranteed lifelong coverage, and premiums that won’t change even if your health changes at some point.
Your policy can accumulate cash value over time, which you’re free to borrow against. The cash value is the amount of money that you are paid out if your policy is terminated and accumulates every year beginning in the 11th year.
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Foresters offers 3 types of non-participating whole life insurance policies, each of which comes with guaranteed cash values, guaranteed premiums, and lifetime death benefit protection:
Non-par whole life
- Coverage type – Single Life, Joint First-to-die, or Joint Last-to-die
- Premium-paying periods of either 20 years or to age 100
Simplified non-par whole life:
- Coverage type – Single Life, Joint First-to-die, or Joint Last-to-die
- Premium-paying period to age 100
- No medical exam required
Child non-par whole life
- Coverage type – Single Life
- No medical exam required
- Premium-paying period of 20 years
Critical Illness Insurance
If you ever become unable to work due to a debilitating illness, you may be eligible to collect a lump sum payment under a critical illness policy. As long as the premiums are maintained and the illness is listed under your policy, you can receive a percentage of your income to help keep up with your ongoing bill payments.
Foresters offers two critical illness insurance policies:
- Live Well. This policy covers 4 medical conditions including cancer, heart attack, stroke, and coronary artery bypass surgery. Coverage is provided up to $100,000.
- Life Well Plus. This policy covers 25 medical conditions. Coverage is provided up to $2 million.
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Pros And Cons Of Using Foresters Life Insurance
Pros
- Joint term coverage – Both you and your spouse or partner can be covered under the same policy, which can translate into savings compared to having two individual policies.
- Lower premiums for good health – Preferred insurance classes are available for coverage of more than $500,000. If you maintain optimal health, you may qualify for lower premiums.
- Quit smoking incentive plan – If you’re a smoker when you take out a life insurance policy with Foresters, you may qualify for a 2-year reduction in premiums if you quit smoking during your policy and provide evidence that you’ve ceased the habit.
- Conversion option – You can convert a term policy into a permanent policy without having to go through the process of proving your ability to be insured.
- Exchange option – You’re free to exchange a term life insurance policy for a longer-term policy at the time of exchange without proof of insurability.
- Bereavement counselling – Your policy beneficiaries can be reimbursed up to $1,000, which can be applied to counselling services to help them with bereavement.
- Option to choose premium payment periods – You’re free to select the premium payment period that suits you best.
- Dividend options – The Foresters Advantage Plus plan offers dividend payouts.
- Several coverage options available – The term and whole life insurance policy options can be further broken down to tailor your life insurance policy according to your needs.
- Member benefits – Foresters offers many membership benefits, including scholarships, terminal illness loans, and discounts to sporting events, theme parks, and legal services.
Cons
- No digital policy – Only a paper copy of your policy will be made available after it has been approved.
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Costs Involved With Getting Life Insurance With Foresters
To give you an idea of how much a life insurance policy would cost with Foresters, the following chart illustrates the cost for a 20-year term policy with coverage of $500,000 for healthy, non-smoking individuals:
| Age | Male | Female |
| 30 years old | $33.30 | $23.40 |
| 40 years old | $50.40 | $37.35 |
| 50 years old | $135.90 | $91.80 |
Like other life insurance companies, Foresters Insurance assesses several factors when calculating the cost of policies, including the following:
- Your age
- Your gender
- Your occupation
- Your lifestyle
- Your health
- Your family’s health history
- Smoking habits
When it comes to the cost of a life insurance policy, it’s all about the risk that the insurance provider assumes. The higher the risk, the more expensive your policy will be. The longer your perceived lifespan, the less expensive your policy will be. The above-mentioned factors play a direct role in your risk of dying young versus living a long life, which will, in turn, affect your premiums.
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How Will I Receive My Death Benefit?
The beneficiaries that you have named in your life insurance policy will receive a death benefit in the form of a tax-free, lump sum payout. It’s important that you are up-to-date on your premium payments to keep your policy active and ensure that your loved ones receive the death benefit.
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Before the payout is distributed, your family will need to supply a copy of your death certificate to the insurance provider as proof of your passing. Following this, the death benefit will be paid out shortly after.
If you have a critical illness policy with Foresters and are diagnosed with a medical condition that inhibits you from returning to work, you can file a claim on your own. Your insurance provider will need to see proof of your diagnosis and inability to return to work as a result. After your claim has been approved, you’ll receive your payout as stipulated in your policy.
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Foresters Insurance Application Process
If you’ve decided to take out a life insurance policy with Foresters Insurance, you can complete an application that can be found on the insurer’s website. The application form is quite detailed and requires the following information to be filled out:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Address
- Social insurance number (SIN)
- Employment information
- Copy of a government-issued ID
- Health information
- Type of policy applying for
- Beneficiary information
Depending on the type of policy you are applying for and your health status, you may be required to undergo a medical exam to verify your health. Otherwise, if you are applying for a policy that does not require a medical exam, this step can be skipped. Instead, Foresters Insurance will use the information provided in your application about your health to come up with the cost of your policy.
Once your policy is approved, you’ll start paying the agreed-upon premiums to keep your policy active.
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Topic Overview
| Minimum Coverage | $50,000 |
| Maximum Coverage | $5 million |
| Term | -10, 20, and 30 years for term life -Lifelong coverage for whole life |
| Renewable | Yes (for term life) |
| Convertible | Yes (for term life) |
Should I Get Foresters Life Insurance?
Foresters Insurance offers several life insurance policies that can be tailored to suit your needs. The company has a long track record in the insurance industry and offers many membership perks that you won’t find with other insurance providers. If you’re in the market to take out a life insurance policy, Foresters will likely have something that will fit within your budget.
