Canada Life Life Insurance Reviews

Why I would NEVER recommend Canada Life extended health... their coverage might sound fine but they are terrible to deal with.

1. Dozens of experiences where they exceeded their standard payment timelines, when inquiries were sent them would reply with their standard timelines - VERY UNHELPFUL
Our average turnaround time for claims is:
- 5 business days - health and dental
- 7 business days - pay direct drugs
- 10 business days - out of the country
Don't be fooled, they are almost always going to exceed these timelines and only pay after multiple emails.

2. You can't actually get anyone to answer the phone (in English, I understand you can get through on the French line). I have spent 2 and 3 hours on the phone waiting to talk to someone, as have others I've spoken to, only to get to the front of the queue and be hung up on. Emails often take up to 5 business days to get a response.

3. Even after my organization got a dedicated contact whose email signature indicated she was a Regional Service Manager my claims remained unpaid after one month. What good is a plan that doesn't reimburse clients for allowed health expenses?

Of course, there are many things to consider, but I would recommend you steer clear of Canada Life at all costs! They aren't a good company and I would give them zero stars if I could.

There aren't enough words or examples to describe how abhorrent Canada Life is as a benefits provider. If there were zero or negative stars available, I would rate them as such.

My company has used Canada Life as our group benefits provider for several years, and I can only assume that it's because they are the cheapest possible option on the market. There are literally no redeeming factors to their service.

A few highlights of my experience include:

-Inordinately Long Wait Times: I've often waited on hold for 1.5 hours, only to be disconnected due to "system issues".

-Segmentation of Expertise: Each customer service rep can only assist you with one type of claim. If you need help with the Drugs vs. Health vs. Healthcare Spending Account, be prepared to talk to three different individuals, with a lengthy wait time in between each. You will also have to provide your identifying credentials every single time.

-Incompetent Staff: 75% of the customer service reps have no idea how to do their job. Asking them a simple question requires them to put you on hold for another 5-10 minutes while they investigate your query. They will rarely have a response on the spot and will claim that they'll call you back after they look into the matter further. Don't hold your breath.

-Processing Times: On average, it will take 4+ weeks for your claim to be processed. Their ongoing excuse is that they are short-staffed due to the pandemic. Cry me a river. Maybe they should hire better staff and pay them adequately. (See "Incompetent Staff" above.)

-Claim Errors: Your claim is finally processed - great! Not so fast, as you will need to review the results with a fine-toothed comb. Their team makes numerous "data entry errors", resulting in you only receiving a fraction of what you're owed. Time to follow up with incompetent reps after long wait times, thus causing the entire cycle to repeat itself.

I have no words of advice, other than to encourage your employer to avoid Canada Life AT ALL COSTS. My husband's company uses a different carrier, and the experience is the complete opposite.

I would rate them less if I could.

Their site experience is garbage. Their pay clarity is not transparent. The site very rarely functions the way it should. They take forever to pay claims. You often have to submit multiple times with the backing of your company's representative just for them to accurately accept the claim.

Trash company.

I have never seen such incompetent agents in my life. After we or, the service provider submit a claim, they will ask for documents, which we send and then nothing happens. We call and after a few calls, they will say that they need the documents which we sent already. After a long hold, they will suddenly find that some documents have arrived, but will not be able to see what those are. Then they will process only one claim for a month, but will not process another one and next month they will again ask for the same initial documents that were sent a few times and used for processing. When asked about how the previous month's claim was processed if they do not have the documents in the first place, they will again not answer but process the claim. This goes on every month. I have never dealt with such incompetent agents and inefficient work processes in my life. Compared to Canada Life, dealing with another company is a breeze. We just submit required documents online and it is processed within 2 to 3 business days. If we had the option to leave Canada Life (my wife's insurance) and switch to my insurance, we would do it without hesitation.

Had a claim from my dentist. It took 4 months just to answer. My dentist had sent 5 different letters as per request for Canada Life to get more information. Until I had reached out to a Canada Life manager nothing was done
After 3 days the manager calls back. Told me that there is a clause in the policy that prior dentist work with another company does not qualify to use there's. My work company had changed insurance companies.
So really all this is out of my control. And when you call you need to set aside 40 to 1 hour for waiting on hold. Then make sure you ask for a manager. The call center is 3rd party so you're talking to India. Have fun!

Everything I have endured with this company has been horrible. I'm a customer with a group benefits plan with my employer, and I would never select this company or recommend them.

They only take phone calls, and no emails, their claims system is old and glitchy. Once you finally speak to someone after waiting up to 1+ hours, they are poorly trained. Processing time takes weeks, they lose your information. Find somewhere else!

The website defaults to paper claim and setting up for online claim is very counterintuitive to the point that I needed help from someone who has done it before. The online portal showed the claim has been processed and paid but it takes a minimum of a week, sometimes two weeks to a month to get your money back. I understand why my company chooses Canada Life because it is cheap and they can say that they have benefits provided but the coverage is terrible and the service is atrocious.

Never before have I dealt with such a horrible insurance company.
Claims always take 7+ weeks to process. Often denied until challenged then approved.
Copious hours spent on hold.
Useless and would never use if the employer didn't contract them.

I've never had such a bad experience with an insurance company before. The reason I'm with Canada Life is because of my company. Each claim has taken up to a month to process, with no exaggeration. I've submitted six claims total and every single one has taken one whole month to see my money get back into my account. Phone wait times are 30-40 minutes minimum. I've also had an experience with a customer service representative who yelled at me and gave me an attitude.

Why do we pretend like insurance companies are here for our needs and not our wallets?
It's been a month since putting in an application. Haven't heard from anyone. Multiple emails, voice messages, and emails sent to my works nurse to see if she can do something, all a waste of time.
If you work here, for god sake, find a new career and let these places die off already.