During uncertain times, it helps to have some type of financial security on your side. That’s where life insurance can be a helping hand.

Having a life insurance policy, like term life insurance or permanent life insurance, can help financially protect your family, loved ones or business. How? If you were to die, your family or beneficiaries can use the money from the death benefit* to help pay for things like:

  • the rent or mortgage,
  • child-care expenses,
  • debts or loans, and
  • any other expenses.

(*The death benefit refers to the money that’s paid to your beneficiaries when you die.)  

You may already know about how life insurance can help you and your loved ones. But you’re more wary of going through a lengthy insurance application process. Currently, the decision to approve an insurance application can take up to three months or 90 days.

But you don’t have to fret over the waiting period. Not if you apply for temporary insurance coverage. Here’s how it works.

What is temporary insurance?

Temporary insurance refers to the instant coverage you get during the life insurance application process. This means you can apply for temporary coverage while applying for a life insurance plan like term life insurance.

With temporary insurance coverage, you’ll:

  • receive coverage after you submit your life insurance application and payment information, and
  • remain covered until your insurance application gets approved or denied.

Please note that temporary coverage lasts for up to 90 days after submitting your life insurance application.

Is temporary insurance available with all life insurance plans?

Not every life insurance plan will give you the chance to apply for temporary coverage. It really depends on the insurance company. For example, at Sun Life, you can get temporary insurance while we review and process your application for:  

These are term life insurance plans that offer coverage for a certain period of time, such as 10 or 20 years. You can apply for either of these plans online. With Sun Life Go Term life Insurance, you can apply for up to $1 million in life insurance coverage. With Sun Life Go Simplified Term Life Insurance, you can apply for up to $100,000 of coverage.

What happens if you die while your application is in process?

Let’s say you got temporary coverage while you applied for an insurance plan like term life insurance. In this case, if you were to die while your application was under review, your beneficiaries can still receive the death benefit.

How much can your beneficiaries get? The amount they get will be the same as the amount of life insurance you requested in your application.*

(*Please note that this also depends on the terms, limitations, conditions and exclusions set out in your insurance application.)

How long does temporary insurance last?

Insurance companies may have different rules when it comes to the length of a temporary insurance policy. At Sun Life, you’ll stop receiving temporary coverage during one of these situations:

  • We’ve approved your application and your insurance is now in effect.
  • Your application was declined.
  • It’s been 30 days since we’ve asked you for more information and you haven’t responded.
  • It’s been three months or 90 days since you submitted your insurance application.
  • You’ve written to us with a request to cancel your application.
  • We’ve given you an insurance offer, but you’ve declined.
  • We’ve already paid the death benefit.*

(*For complete details, please see specific terms and conditions of the coverage.)

Do you need temporary insurance?

Temporary insurance is coverage that you may receive when you apply for a specific type of life insurance like term life insurance. If you’re looking for fast, instant coverage, temporary insurance can be a great source of financial security – especially as you await the results of your insurance application.

Talk to an advisor for help

Not sure what type of insurance is right for you? You may want to consider talking to an advisor.

An advisor can:

  • talk you through all your insurance options,
  • answer any questions or address any concerns you may have, and
  • help you build life insurance into your overall financial plan.

Most advisors now offer to meet Clients by phone or virtually through Zoom video chat. Find an advisor today.