How much does $250,000 of life insurance cost in Canada?

$250,000 is a common amount for younger buyers, single people, and anyone covering a smaller mortgage or adding to workplace coverage. A non-smoker under 40 can usually buy it on a 20 year term for less than $30 a month. It does cost more than half of what $500,000 costs, for reasons explained below. The tables show prices published by Canadian insurers and brokers over the past year.

What $250,000 costs on a 20 year term

Monthly premiums for non-smokers:

Price is nearly flat through your twenties and thirties, then rises quickly: a 50 year old man pays roughly four times what a 30 year old man pays. Women pay less than men at every age.

Shorter and longer terms

Non-smoker monthly premiums for 10 and 30 year terms:

A 10 year term is the cheapest way to buy $250,000, but it ends sooner and renewing it later costs far more. Our guide to what happens when term life insurance expires explains renewal pricing. Many insurers stop issuing 30 year terms at about age 50 to 55.

Smokers

For $250,000 on a 20 year term, published prices for smokers were about $22 to $25 a month for a 30 year old woman and $30 to $35 for a 30 year old man, and about $117 to $121 for a 50 year old woman and $189 to $201 for a 50 year old man. That is roughly one and a half to two times the non-smoker price at 30, and about 2.3 to 2.9 times at 50. Most insurers offer non-smoker rates after 12 months free of nicotine.

Why $250,000 costs more than half of $500,000

In sources that publish both amounts, $250,000 usually cost about 55 to 65 percent of the $500,000 premium, and anywhere from about half to three quarters. Two things cause it:

• Policy fees. Many term policies include a fixed annual fee, about $30 to $60 in the insurer documents we reviewed. On a small policy, that fee is a bigger share of the premium.
• Rate bands. Many insurers charge a lower rate per $1,000 above set amounts. One insurer’s current guide starts new bands at $250,000, $500,000 and $1 million.

The $250,000 price is closest to the $500,000 price for young women on short terms, and closest to half of it for older applicants, smokers and longer terms. If you are deciding between $250,000 and a larger amount, get both prices: the extra coverage often costs less than you expect. Our guide to what $500,000 costs has the comparison.

What the insurer will ask for

$250,000 is a light application for most people. In the insurer requirement guides we reviewed, dated 2023 to 2026, $250,000 needed only the application up to about age 55 at several insurers. Blood and urine tests commonly start somewhere between about 56 and 61. An insurer can always ask for more based on your answers, and coverage you already have with the same insurer usually counts toward these limits.

No-medical options at $250,000

Because $250,000 sits under the limit of most simplified issue products, it is a popular amount to buy without an exam. Simplified issue policies ask health questions instead, and cost more. One insurer’s published example dated August 2026, for its best tier on a 10 year term for a non-smoking woman, was about $28 a month at 35, $45 at 45 and $99 at 55, including a policy fee. That was about 2.5 times the fully underwritten price at 35.

If you are in good enough health to qualify for full underwriting, and under about 55, you may not need an exam anyway, so compare both before paying the simplified issue premium. Guaranteed issue coverage, with no health questions at all, usually stops at $25,000 to $50,000, is permanent coverage rather than term, and usually limits the payout for a death from natural causes in the first two years. Our guide to no-medical life insurance covers both types.

With a health condition: table ratings and flat extras at $250,000

The prices above are samples for healthy non-smokers and include no rating. If a health condition, a recent surgery or a risky job leads the insurer to rate your policy, the extra charge comes in one of two forms, and they behave very differently.

• A table rating is a percentage of the standard premium, typically about 25 percent per table. At Table 2, a 40 year old man’s $27 to $29 a month becomes roughly $40 to $44. Actual results vary: the rating is not applied to the policy fee, and it is applied to the insurer’s standard rate, which can be above the lowest prices shown.
• A flat extra is a fixed charge per $1,000 of coverage per year. A flat extra of $2.50 per $1,000 adds $625 a year on $250,000, about $52 a month. For the same 40 year old man, that takes $27 to $29 a month to about $79 to $81, close to three times the standard price.

Because a flat extra is a fixed charge per $1,000 rather than a share of the premium, it can cost more than the standard premium itself, as in this example. Two questions matter: is the flat extra temporary, and for how many years? Many are applied for three to five years and then drop off. And would a simplified issue policy, if you qualify for one, cost less for those years? It can, at higher ratings, so get both prices before you decide.

The simplest way to avoid an expensive surprise is to find out where your file fits before you apply, with an anonymous pre-check across insurers. The same file can draw a rating at one insurer and a different rating, or standard, at another.

Is $250,000 enough?

$250,000 can be the right amount if you are:

• Single or without dependents, covering debts and final expenses.
• Covering a smaller mortgage. The median amount still owing on Canadian mortgages was about $245,000 in September 2024, according to the Bank of Canada, so $250,000 covers many existing mortgages, though not most new ones.
• Topping up workplace coverage, which is often one or two times salary and usually ends when you leave the job. Our guide to group life insurance conversion covers what happens then.

It is often not enough for a main earner with young children, where the family would need years of income as well as the mortgage paid off. Rules of thumb such as 10 times your income are not current guidance from any Canadian regulator, and they ignore your actual debts and needs. Our life insurance needs calculator adds up what your family would actually need.

Frequently asked questions

How much does $250,000 of life insurance cost per month in Canada?

For a 20 year term, non-smoker prices published by Canadian insurers and brokers between October 2025 and September 2026 ran about $13 to $16 a month for a 30 year old woman and $16 to $20 for a 30 year old man. At 40 they were about $21 to $24 for women and $27 to $29 for men, and at 50 about $48 to $51 for women and $69 to $72 for men.

Why does $250,000 cost more than half of $500,000?

Many policies carry a fixed annual policy fee, about $30 to $60 in the insurer documents we reviewed, and insurers often charge a higher rate per $1,000 on smaller amounts. In sources that publish both, $250,000 usually cost about 55 to 65 percent of the $500,000 premium, and anywhere from about half to three quarters.

Can I get $250,000 of life insurance without a medical exam?

Yes. $250,000 is within the limits of most simplified issue products, which ask health questions instead of an exam, but they cost more. Many applicants under about 55 can also get $250,000 of fully underwritten coverage with no tests at all. Guaranteed issue coverage, with no health questions, is usually limited to $25,000 to $50,000.

Is $250,000 of life insurance enough?

It can be for a single person, a couple with a small mortgage, or someone topping up workplace coverage. It is often not enough to replace the income of a main earner with young children for many years. Adding up debts, income needs and future costs gives a better answer.

How much more does $250,000 of life insurance cost with a health condition?

It depends on how the insurer rates you. A table rating typically adds about 25 percent of the standard premium per table, so Table 2 costs about one and a half times the standard price. A flat extra is a fixed charge per $1,000 of coverage: at $2.50 per $1,000, it adds $625 a year on $250,000, which can nearly triple a 40 year old man’s standard premium while it applies. Many flat extras drop off after three to five years.

Get your own number

These tables show prices insurers and brokers have published for sample applicants, not what you will pay. A licensed advisor can compare insurers for your exact age, term and health, and show you the price at $250,000 next to a larger amount.