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Life insurance guides for Québec
Clear reference points, numbers included, sources cited. We explain; the quotes come from licensed partners.
Understanding life insurance
The types of coverage, what they protect, and how to estimate the amount you need.
Term or permanent life insurance: how to choose
Length of coverage, renewal premiums, cash surrender value: what the Autorité des marchés financiers explains about the two main families of life insurance.
Whole life or universal life: the differences that matter
Two permanent contracts, two opposite mechanics. What the AMF publishes about participating benefits, the accumulation fund and the cost of insurance.
How much life insurance do you need? The calculation methods
The recognized calculation methods, explained step by step: the financial needs analysis required in Québec and the DIME grid. Work out your own total.
Life insurance with no medical exam: how it works
Simplified issue, guaranteed issue, the two-year period: what the Autorité des marchés financiers explains about life insurance with no medical exam.
Naming a beneficiary in Québec: the rules to know
A married spouse named irrevocably by default, outside the estate, exemption from seizure: the articles of the Civil Code of Québec to know before you sign.
Your employer's group life insurance: its limits
Coverage ending when you leave, salary units, a conversion right available until age 65: what the AMF publishes about group plans.
Mortgage insurance or individual life insurance
Beneficiary, declining amount, fixed premium, medical questionnaire: what structurally separates the two products, according to the FCAC and the AMF.
Replacing an existing policy: the rules that protect you
Your representative must complete a Préavis de remplacement and prove the change serves your interests. What you lose by starting over.
Turned down by an insurer: what it means and what to do
A refusal is neither final nor without recourse. Your rights of access to your file, the law on genetic tests, and the doors that stay open.
Critical illness, disability or life: three products people confuse
Critical illness insurance pays only if the diagnosis matches the contract's definition. What really separates the three, according to the AMF.
Québec's public plans
What the QPP, the SAAQ and the CNESST pay at death — and what they don't cover.
The QPP death benefit: amount, entitlement and how to apply
The QPP death benefit is a one-time payment of no more than $2,500. Who can receive it, which costs it reimburses and how to apply for it.
The QPP surviving spouse's pension: entitlement and amounts
Who is recognized as a surviving spouse under the QPP, what amounts Retraite Québec pays in 2026, and why you should not wait to apply.
The QPP orphan's pension: amount, duration and how to apply
Retraite Québec pays $307.81 per month per child in 2026. Who is entitled to it, until what age, how to apply and who has to report it to the tax authorities.
Death in a road accident: the SAAQ's death indemnities
The SAAQ pays a spouse an indemnity of at least $172,914 in 2026, plus $8,727 for funeral expenses. Who is entitled to it and how it is calculated.
Work-related death: the indemnities paid by the CNESST
In 2026, the CNESST pays a spouse a lump sum of $136,021 to $309,000 and reimburses up to $6,612 in funeral expenses. The rules and the deadlines.
Last-resort assistance for funeral expenses in Québec
The special benefit for funeral expenses can pay up to $2,500 when the deceased did not have the means. Conditions, calculation and deadline.
Estates and wills
Québec's Civil Code doesn't work like the rest of Canada. What changes.
Notarial, Holograph or Before Witnesses: Québec's 3 Types of Wills
In Québec, only the notarial will escapes probate after death. What the three forms change for your heirs, and at what cost.
Dying Without a Will in Québec: Who Inherits Under the Law
Without a will, the Civil Code decides. De facto spouses inherit nothing, except in a parental union since June 30, 2025. The full table.
The Estate Liquidator in Québec: Role and Obligations
In Québec, the liquidator takes the place of the executor. What the law requires, what the liquidator risks personally, and how you end up with the job.
Taxes at Death in Québec: What the Estate Has to Pay
There is no inheritance tax in Québec. There is a final return, a deemed disposition, and certificates to obtain before anything else happens.
How Long Settling an Estate Takes, and What It Costs
A Québec estate is counted in months, not weeks. The time limits set by the Civil Code, probate costs, and what makes them climb.
Family Patrimony, De Facto Spouses and Life Insurance in Québec
The family patrimony protects only married people. What the parental union changes, and why naming your spouse as beneficiary is irreversible.
Your Debts When You Die: What Survives and What Is Extinguished
Your heirs pay no more than what they receive, unless they skip the inventory. What the Civil Code extinguishes at death, and what stays owing.
Is a Life Insurance Death Benefit Taxable in Québec?
The death benefit paid to the beneficiary is tax-free according to Éducaloi. But the QPP death benefit is taxable, and a policy can generate a tax slip.
After a death in Québec: the steps of the first few weeks
One form signed at the funeral home notifies six organizations at once. The order of the steps, the deadlines already running and the documents to obtain.
Funerals and costs
What funerals really cost in Québec, and your legal protections.
Funeral costs in Québec: what $2,500 does not cover
A funeral in Québec costs $5,700 on average in the private sector, while the QPP death benefit caps out at $2,500. How to close the gap.
Prearranged funerals: your legal protections in Québec
90% held in trust, a price frozen by law, a 30-day cancellation window: the real protections in prearranged funeral contracts in Québec.
Cremation or burial in Québec: what each choice costs
What cremation really costs in Québec compared with burial, item by item, and why the advertised price is not comparing the same services.
For your situation
After 60, self-employed, or at the time of a separation.
Life insurance after 60: what changes and what stays
After 60, group insurance ends, the conversion right closes at 65 and the QPP shows its limits. What really changes.
Self-employed in Québec: why your case is different
Doubled QPP contributions, a separate QPIP rate, no group plan: what really sets a Québec self-employed worker's protection apart.
Separation and Divorce in Québec: Who Collects Your Insurance
In Québec, divorce cancels an ex-spouse's designation. Separation and a de facto union do not. What the law says, and what you need to update.
Protecting a Minor Child: Tutorship, Trusts and Designations
Naming your child as beneficiary means handing them the money at 18. What the Civil Code provides, and the tools for framing the money differently.
SME Shareholders: The Agreement, Death and Life Insurance
Without a buy-sell clause, you become the business partner of your co-shareholder's heirs. How life insurance funds the buyout of shares at death.
Reference
The short answers, and the vocabulary decoded.
Life Insurance in Québec: The Most Frequently Asked Questions
Irrevocable beneficiary, medical exam, QPP death benefit, estates, funeral costs: 25 short, sourced answers about life insurance in Québec.
Glossary of Life Insurance and Estate Terms in Québec
Life insurance and estate terms explained simply, with the vocabulary specific to Québec and the Civil Code. More than 45 definitions.