Protect today
Keep the house in the family, not just the mortgage paid.
The coverage the bank offers at signing and the coverage you can own yourself are not the same product. One shrinks as you pay down the loan and belongs to the lender. The other does not.
- Bank coverage
- Declines with the balance
- Creditor insurance typically pays the outstanding balance, which falls as you pay down the loan while the premium often does not.
- Beneficiary
- The lender, not your family
- Creditor insurance pays the lender directly. A personal policy pays whoever you name.
- Portability
- Stays with the mortgage
- Creditor coverage generally ends if you switch lenders. A personal policy moves with you.
What we look at together
This is usually the shortest and most valuable conversation we have. We compare what the lender sold you against a personal term policy of the same size, and in most cases the personal policy costs less and does considerably more.
For anyone with a mortgage — especially if the coverage came from the bank at signing.
What the bank actually sold you
Whether it was underwritten at application or only at claim time, who the beneficiary is, and what happens when you renew elsewhere.
A term policy sized to the mortgage
Coverage that stays level while your balance falls, paid to your family, who can choose whether clearing the mortgage is even the best move.
Covering both borrowers
Joint or separate coverage on two incomes, and what happens to the survivor's coverage after a claim.
Adding illness and disability
The mortgage still has to be paid if you are alive but not earning. That is a different product, and it belongs in the same conversation.
Side by side
Creditor insurance vs. a personal term policy
The same monthly cost frequently buys very different things. This is the comparison the paperwork at closing does not show you.
Scroll the table sideways →
| Lender's creditor insurance | Personal term policy | |
|---|---|---|
| Who receives the payout | The lender | Whoever you name |
| Coverage amount over time | Falls with your balance | Stays level |
| Underwritten | Often only at claim time | At application, so the answer is known upfront |
| If you switch lenders | Generally ends | Continues unchanged |
| If you sell the home | Ends | You keep it |
| Family can choose how to use it | No | Yes |
Is this for you
When it helps, and when to wait.
We would rather tell you this is not your priority right now than sell you something you do not need. If the right-hand column describes you, say so on the call.
Worth a conversation if
- You have a mortgage and took the coverage offered at the branch
- You are about to close and have not decided yet
- You are renewing or switching lenders
- Two incomes are servicing one mortgage
Worth pausing if
- You have a health condition that would make new underwriting difficult — do not cancel anything before new coverage is in force
- Your existing life insurance already exceeds the mortgage balance comfortably
Mortgage protection — questions
Good questions to bring to the call.
These are the ones that come up most on this topic. Yours is welcome even if it is not here.
It is not bad, it is just narrower than most people assume. It typically pays the lender rather than your family, the coverage falls as your balance does, and it usually ends if you move your mortgage. A personal policy of the same size often costs less and gives your family the choice of what to do with the money.
Read next
Protect today
Life insurance
Replace the income your household depends on, for as long as it depends on it.
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Disability & income protection
Replace a portion of your paycheque, monthly, if you cannot work.
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Critical illness insurance
A tax-free lump sum on diagnosis, to spend however recovery actually requires.
Everything on this page describes how these products generally work in Canada. Figures, terms, definitions and availability vary by insurer and by policy, and nothing here is a quote, a rate, or a guarantee of coverage or approval. Any strategy should be reviewed against your own situation with a licensed representative before you act on it.