Is Assurant Life and Canada Purple Shield Rebranded as Trustage Life of Canada

Checking out Assurant Life of Canada reviews online? Well then, we have some great info…

Important Notice: In January 2022, Assurant Life of Canada was rebranded as Trustage Life of Canada. Read more about it below.

If you didn’t already know, Assurant is directly connected to Canada Purple Shield. Hopefully, this will clear up any confusion that may ensue.

As the country’s most prominent funeral insurance provider, Assurant Life of Canada is one of the top 15 life insurance companies in terms of policy sales volume. 

If that’s the case, why have so many consumers never heard of them…

…and are they the RIGHT funeral insurance company for you?

Funeral Insurance Canada = Big Business

End-of-life or funeral pre-planning is a hot topic. As seniors in Canada become a more significant segment of our population, the demand for services geared toward them continues to increase dramatically. Statistically, every single day, one thousand Canadians reach the age of 65. Wow, now that’s a lot of birthday candles!

“In 2016, the number of seniors… in the total population surpassed the number of children…for the first time in Canada’s history. According to all scenarios, this situation would continue”

Stats Canada, Population Projections for Canada (2018 to 2068)

Final expense planning is becoming one of the fastest-growing areas in the insurance industry today. This means increased competition between carriers to get a bigger piece of this ever-increasing pie.

Assurant Life of Canada has long held a place at this table—one could argue that they built it. They’ve been entrenched in the funeral funding business for decades, and with increased competition, it will be interesting to see if they can hold on to their market share. 

If you want to know more about final expenses or funeral insurance, check out my post here.

A Few Words About Assurant Life of Canada

Assurant Life of Canada is the single largest provider of preneed life insurance plans in Canada that fund final expenses or funeral costs. 

This long-standing insurer began as the Pierce Brothers Family Mortuaries in 1902. As a family-owned business, they pioneered funeral pre-planning in Canada as we know it. They saw firsthand the grief and financial strain their clients experienced, so they innovated a better and more affordable way for people to plan burials.

Their new approach involved purchasing a life insurance company and offering consumers portable funeral insurance policies that pay tax-free benefits in cash.

Over many decades, this company evolved into Assurant Life of Canada, which now has almost $2 billion assets. Their parent company, Assurant Inc., offers similar pre-need services in the US through American Memorial Life Insurance.

They also have substantial international holdings in other risk management market sectors. Assurant distributes its final expense plans through 3,000 funeral homes in Canada and the U.S.

Canada Purple Shield

They operate through three brand names in Canada: Canada Purple Shield, Assurant Preneed, and TruStage Life of Canada. Purple Shield is associated with Assurant’s final expense business, primarily in Atlantic Canada and Western Canada.  

Nobody in Ontario or Quebec uses the name Purple Shield, but TruStage Life of Canada underwrites both brands’ funeral plans. For example, if you go to the domain purpleshield.ca, you will be taken to the trustage.ca homepage.  

TruStage Life of Canada 

TruStage Life of Canada is a division of CUNA Mutual Group. As a leader in providing financial products and services to credit unions and their members,  TruStage was established in 2013 when CUNA Mutual Group purchased Assurant Life of Canada.

Fast forward to 2022, and CUNA has rebranded Assurant Life of Canada as TruStage Life of Canada.

Assurant Life of Canada Financial Ratings

Assurant Life of Canada has excellent financials, with assets approaching $2 billion and $1.9 million in final expense plans sold.

AM Best rates them A—(Excellent), and their parent company, Assurant Inc., is rated ‘A’ and has assets over $30 billion. 

Assurant’s US burial insurance marketer, American Memorial Life, also received a financial strength rating (FSR) of “A” from AM Best. Therefore, if you purchase a funeral insurance plan through Assurant or Purple Shield Canada, your loved ones will safely receive their payout.

Assurant (Purple Shield): What Do Customers Think?

Having scoured the web, I see that Assurant Solutions or Canada Purple Shield have no Google reviews. It’s hard to find any positive or negative reviews anywhere. But of course, if you look hard enough, you can always find some complaints.

Did you know that only 15 out of 1000 people leave an online review of a product or service? Is it good to base your buying decision on what 1.5% of people think? Not to mention, how do you know they used the product or service?

For example, a son who thought his mother paid more for a plan than her estate received said, “Don’t get ripped off by Canada Purple Shield (Assurant Life of Canada).” This is not necessarily Assurant’s fault, as they have a distribution system with thousands of advisors and licensed funeral pre-planners across Canada. Is it fair to paint Assurant badly because one of their distributors didn’t meet a client’s expectations? 

We don’t know all the details of the plan or the money received.

You should take some time to read reviews and compare them with the other information you gather when doing your homework.

What Is The Elephas Group?

Some independent vendors selling final expense plans underwritten by Assurant include My Final Wishes, Funeral Protection Plus, and the Elephas Group.

Several negative reviews are directed toward the Elephas Group. Some consumers voiced concerns regarding their marketing tactics, including brown craft envelope mailouts that imitate government documents.

Other complaints directed towards the Elephas group allege that their policies are insufficient to cover the actual cost of a funeral. According to sources, Assurant Life of Canada has received several complaints regarding these practices through the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). Still, I don’t know if the situation has been resolved.

The advisor or agent is responsible for ensuring clients understand the product they purchase. Sadly, many consumers appear to have plans they don’t understand, can’t afford, or have substandard guarantees. 

Assurant Life of Canada Products

Assurant Life of Canada’s entire product range is focused solely on funeral pre-planning solutions. 

There is a lot of confusion among seniors regarding these types of products. Advisors and funeral providers alike use all kinds of different language when marketing these plans:

• funeral insurance
• burial insurance
• cremation insurance
• final expense insurance
• end-of-life insurance, etc.

I don’t know if it’s intentional, but it creates confusion in consumers’ minds. So, let’s set the record straight. What is the difference between these terms?

There is NO difference; these products are all the same!

FINAL EXPENSE = BURIAL INSURANCE = CREMATION INSURANCE = PRENEED LIFE INSURANCE

All funeral insurance – regardless of the name used – is life insurance. Specifically, these plans are permanent life insurance used to cover funeral costs. Most of the time, it’s a small whole-life policy for $5000 – $25,000.

Ideally, all final expense plans should have the following guarantees:

• Monthly cost or premium NEVER increases over the life of the policy
• Death benefit NEVER decreases
• A death benefit is paid 100% tax-free to your family or loved ones. The proceeds are used to pay the funeral provider, and any money left over stays with them. 
• No physical or medical exams are required as part of the application
• The policy cannot expire at any age. As long as you’re paying your premiums, the policy can never be canceled due to any change in your age or health

NOTE – Some carriers like Specialty Life sell final expense insurance with graded premiums. This means the monthly cost or premium increases over the policy’s life. These plans are to be avoided at all costs.

They may initially seem inexpensive to consumers, but once the rates increase, they become unaffordable. There is no reason to purchase a graded plan when there are affordable alternatives with rates guaranteed to NEVER increase. Call Policy Architects today to find out.

Assurant Pre-Need Funeral Insurance

An Assurant funeral insurance policy is designed for consumers who want everything planned and pre-paid for in advance.

Whether it’s a burial or cremation, you decide on your desired products and services. Every last detail is planned out so your loved ones aren’t burdened with the cost or worry of making last-minute decisions.

Funeral Goods & Services Contract

Their burial insurance plan involves signing a detailed Funeral Goods & Services contract with your funeral provider. The Assurant preneed life insurance policy funds the contract and locks in the cost of your purchased services, protecting you from inflation. 

If you go to the funeral home and make a prearrangement for, say, $8,467.99, that will be the amount of the burial policy.  There are potential riders over and above that (Executor Protection, Final Document Service, etc.), but the original policy matches the Funeral Goods & Services contract you signed.

The Fine Print

In most Provinces, funeral homes are required by law to guarantee the price of those Goods & Services when a prearrangement is made and funded through insurance or trust. That means your licensed funeral provider provides those same services for $8,467.99 whether you pass away today or 20 years from now. 

This is the primary reason for purchasing an Assurant Preneed life insurance policy: peace of mind and funeral service arrangements are made and funded.

NOTE* It is a good idea to confirm the exact services included in the package. Sometimes, Funeral homes cannot guarantee all the costs, especially those arranged with third-party vendors.

Payment Options

With an Assurant pre-need funeral insurance plan, you can pay the entire amount upfront for 3, 5, 10, or 20 years.

Like most seniors who choose a payment plan, you must sign a funeral goods and services contract. This document designates the home providing the services and the policy owner (likely you). The Assurant Life of Canada policy funds the contract.

In funeral insurance lingo, this is called Fixed Premium Insurance Accumulation (FPIA). If you’re healthy, the policy covers you from day one for the entire funeral cost. 

For example, a 70-year-old paying for an $8,000 burial plan over 15 years pays approximately $96 monthly. If this senior passes away after making payments for only three years, Assurant pays out the full $8,000 death benefit. 

And yes, you did your math correctly. That’s $17,280 paid over 15 years for $8,000 funeral services. More about the cost later.

Preferred Or Guaranteed Issue

If you have any health issues, your life insurance burial policy may have a 2-year waiting period. This means it is a Guaranteed Issue plan. A Preferred plan has no waiting period. 

If you die within the first two years of starting the plan, Assurant will NOT pay out the death benefit. Your family or loved ones are responsible for any balance owing on your funeral plan.

You’re covered for the total amount when a death occurs after two years. 

In case you were wondering, this is standard practice for most funeral insurance carriers. It’s their way of providing insurance to someone with moderate to serious health issues while mitigating risk. That means you qualify for one of these plans even if you are terminally ill. 

Assurant’s risk assessments are more conservative than other traditional life insurance companies. 

Assurant Final Expense Insurance

Assurant final expense insurance policies are for consumers who want to communicate their final wishes but leave the specific details up to their loved ones. These plans are more flexible as they pay out a tax-free benefit directly to your beneficiaries, who then use the funds to pay the funeral provider. 

An Assurant Life of Canada Final Expense plan does NOT require you to sign a Funeral Goods & Services contract with a funeral home when you purchase the policy. The policy is issued before any contract based on the end-of-life plan you create with your advisor.

It’s important to know that when the final expense policy is written through an Assurant Distribution Partner, it is more easily “assigned” to a funeral home to cover the goods and services to your family’s wishes.

As such, Assurant’s final expense insurance does not lock in the cost or services of any cremation or burial. That’s why it’s essential to anticipate the costs 10 or 20 years from now to have the right amount of coverage. 

For example, an $8000 burial today costs $11,887 20 years from now, based on an annual inflation rate of 2%.

Like Assurant’s preneed funeral insurance, you can pay the entire amount upfront or over 3, 5, 10, or 20 years. Likewise, the policy is issued Preferred or Guaranteed, depending on your health. 

Funeral Home Partners vs Final Expense Agents

Rumor has it that many Assurant Funeral Home Partners strongly dislike Assurant Final Expense Agents because they feel these insurance agents mislead Seniors and misrepresent themselves as funeral home representatives.

These agents often carry price lists of various funeral homes in the areas where they are working.

The issue comes to a head when the insured passes away. The family believes they have a prearranged funeral, only to discover that they have a final expense policy that does NOT cover the funeral arrangements.

Since funeral directors hate giving bad news, they blame the insurance agent/company, and the family is left holding the bag.

“That’s why it’s really important to “kick the tires” on any purchase of a final expense or preneed plan. You have to make absolutely sure that you understand the goods and services you are buying. If your funeral home partner or insurance agent appears to be evasive when it comes to the details of your plan, go to someone else.”

Assurant Executor Protection

Assurant Life of Canada Executor Protection Plans are designed to help the family member or close friend you’ve designated as your executor.

It’s no secret that being the executor of an estate comes with emotional, financial, and administrative burdens. The Assurant executor protection plan alleviates these issues by providing timely financial support to help your executor administer the estate with minimal stress.

Assurant Travel Protection

Assurant Life of Canada Travel Protection pays for the prompt return of your remains if you pass away more than 100km away from home. 

This is an ideal plan for seniors who travel extensively or snowbirds who spend half the year living in another country. 

Assurant travel protection includes:

• All paperwork, including consular documents, if death is outside of the country
• Preparation and transportation of your remains at a funeral provider near the place of death before final transportation home
• Transportation home of one traveling companion
• Transportation of one family member to the place of death to accompany the deceased home

NOTE* This is a standalone product. You don’t have to purchase an Assurant preneed funeral plan to be eligible for their travel protection. At $595.00, I think this is a bargain!

Assurant Final Documents Service & Identity Theft Restoration

Final Documents Service

Assurant Life of Canada prepares all necessary documents:

• Assessment of Government applications, pensions, memberships, etc., to determine what paperwork is required
• All paperwork, including consular documentation, if the insured dies outside of the Country
• A customized guide to help your family member or executor through the entire process
• Ongoing assistance for your family or executor for 365 days following your death

Identity Theft Restoration

Protects you and your estate from the theft of personal documents such as passports, driver’s licenses, or other government-issued identification after death. Assurant Life of Canada takes the following steps to make sure your credit is not compromised:

• Investigate any suspicious or fraudulent accounts on your credit profile and communicate with law enforcement and government agencies as required
• Issue fraud alerts and restore credit accuracy with national credit bureaus
• Notify the Passport Office, any financial institutions, utilities, revenue Canada, and Provincial health plans as needed
• Provide ongoing support to family or executor until the situation is resolved

Assurant Preneed Life Insurance Application Process

Purple Shield and Assurant products are distributed in Canada through a network of approximately 3000 advisors. Most agents who sell these funeral insurance plans to consumers are exclusive brokers.

This means Assurant/ Canada Purple Shield is the ONLY program they sell. 

This is good news if you buy a plan through your local funeral home. However, it may make it difficult to do some comparison shopping.

Also, partners selling Assurant preneed life insurance must be licensed funeral pre-planners and/or funeral directors. 

If you want to apply, visit their website, assurantlife.ca, and the Contact Us page. You can fill out an online form to contact a representative in your area.

You don’t have to undergo a medical exam, but the application process involves answering basic health questions. 

Health Questions on The Application

If you answer “yes” to any of the following five questions, you are considered higher risk, and your coverage is guaranteed issue with a 2-year waiting period. But take note, answering “no” to all of the questions qualifies you for the preferred issue, and your coverage goes into force immediately:

1. Are you currently confined to a hospital or nursing home, or have you ever been diagnosed as having a terminal illness, Alzheimer’s, or HIV?
2. During the past five years, have you ever been treated for or been diagnosed as having:

1. • Disease or disorder of the heart, circulatory or vascular systems, stroke, or cancer?
   • Disease or disorder of the lungs, liver, or kidney; alcoholism or drug abuse?
   • Brain disorder or tumor, seizure, paralysis, psychosis, lupus, or MS?
   • Blood disease or disorder, or both high blood pressure and diabetes together?

NOTE: there are no questions regarding gender or smoking status.

Payment Options

Whether you choose to go with Assurant preneed life insurance, final expense insurance, or executor protection, payment options are similar:

• Depending on your age at the time of issue, you can pay over a 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20-year period. You can also pay the total amount upfront if that works for you.
• There are no blood tests required to apply.
• Full benefit is paid out regardless of how many payments you’ve made at your death.
• Depending on your health, the policy may be issued as preferred or guaranteed (2-year waiting period).

Canada Purple Shield (Assurant) Rates

Generally speaking, Assurant Life of Canada’s rates are 30-40% higher than those of other final expense companies in Canada. Their competitors include:

• Canada Protection Plan (CPP)
• Assumption Life
• Specialty Life Insurance (SLi)
• Industrial Alliance (iA)
• Wawanesa Life
• American Income Life
• Knights of Columbus
• Orange Benefit Fund, etc.

First, finding Canada Purple Shield or Assurant rates online is impossible. Does that mean they’re trying to hide something? Not really. It’s hard to find accurate rates online with any carrier.

One of the reasons is that every consumer is unique in age, gender, and health. 

At some point, though, you need to speak with a human being to get an accurate idea of the cost. In my first attempt to get a precise quote, the third-party agent I spoke with told me he would only provide this information in person, not over the phone. 

Assurant Life of Canada – Pros

1. Assurant Life of Canada: A One-Stop Solution

Assurant has a deep history with most funeral firms across North America. As such, they underwrite almost all of the preneed funeral insurance plans sold through funeral homes in Canada. 

This relationship allows you to plan and pre-fund every detail of your funeral. After all, shouldn’t a burial reflect the life being celebrated? What type of casket or urn would you like? Will there be flowers? Are you going to have a visitation, service, or both?

Maybe you want a basic cremation with no fuss.

Either way, it’s entirely up to you. Once you’ve decided precisely what you want, signed the contract, and arranged payment, the entire burden of planning and paying for your funeral is removed from your loved ones. 

When that day comes – and it comes for all of us – the funeral provider takes care of everything, knowing that payment from Assurant is guaranteed.

Planning a funeral is challenging at the best of times but is made even more difficult when complicated emotions are involved. Assurant Life of Canada’s one-stop solution takes the pressure off your family so they can put 100% of their focus on grieving. 

2. Assurant Life of Canada Has a Long History and is Financially Solid

Assurant (Purple Shield) is Canada’s largest provider of insurance-funded end-of-life planning solutions. 

Their history goes back to 1925, which means it’s excellent. How many companies can say that?

Assurant Life of Canada is also A-rated by AM Best and has approximately $2 billion in assets.

This should make any consumer feel that their investment is secure.

3. Claims Paid Out Fast!

Once all the required documents are received, Assurant Life of Canada usually pays out your family’s funeral insurance claim within 24 hours. 

In my eyes, this is a huge advantage. Instead of your beneficiary waiting by the mailbox for a few weeks for the cheque, Assurant forwards the money directly to the funeral home on the same day.

Knowing the funeral home is paid quickly brings enormous peace of mind. Your loved ones are not burdened with having to cover any funeral costs immediately following your death.

Other life insurance burial policies often take several weeks to pay out. This is a big reason consumers choose Canada Purple Shield (Assurant). They like the idea of the funeral home getting paid immediately.

4. Offers Low Coverage Amounts

Assurant Life of Canada (Purple Shield Canada) issues funeral insurance policies with face amounts as low as $400. With most other carriers, the minimum face amount is between $5,000 and $10,000.

5. Assurant Insurance is a Niche Provider

Assurant Life of Canada specializes in one thing – preneed funeral insurance – and they do it well! 

They are connected to hundreds of funeral homes across Canada and offer this product directly to consumers through their in-house pre-need counselors.

Assurant Life of Canada CONS

1. Assurant’s Funeral Insurance is Expensive

Any way you slice it, Assurant’s funeral insurance is expensive compared to traditional life insurance companies. 

If money is no issue and you want the certainty and peace of mind of a one-stop solution, Assurant’s preneed funeral insurance planning is the way to go. No question, they are an excellent carrier providing top-notch service.

Also, it’s fair to say that contrasting this type of plan with a typical whole-life policy from another carrier is like comparing apples to oranges. 

Having said that, if you are looking at a final expense coverage that pays out directly to your family, not the funeral home, it’s worthwhile to compare quotes from different carriers (See my cost comparison in the “rates” section above).

For the same cost as an Assurant plan, you may be able to leave your loved ones up to 40% more money if you go with a traditional life insurance company like Assumption Life.

2. Assurant Penalizes Women, Non-Smokers and Healthy Seniors

This is why it’s so important to do your homework. The following are potential pitfalls for Assurant (Canada Purple Shield) clients:

• Women pay as much as men 
• If you’re a non-smoker, you pay the same rate as a smoker
• If you have NO health issues, Assurant charges you the same premium as someone who had a triple bypass surgery six months ago

There are advantages to being a woman. One of them is cheaper insurance rates compared to men. Statistically, women live longer than men, so they should expect to pay 30% less for their life insurance. 

Likewise, non-smokers typically expect to pay 40% less than smokers do, and healthy seniors expect to pay less for their final expense insurance than someone who has a serious health issue.

To their credit, Assurant Life of Canada does not discriminate against any of these groups; they treat them all equally. 

Why Do They Do This?

I guess Assurant/ Purple Shield Canada wants to keep its business model simple. It wants to ensure that every consumer who walks into a funeral home qualifies for one of its plans.

If you have a serious health issue and are considering your end-of-life plans, it’s good to know that you qualify for a final expense program. 

How does Assurant achieve this?

They throw all their insurance applicants into the same high-risk pool. The only thing determining your rate is your age when you start a policy.

So, if you’re a 70-year-old female, non-smoker with no severe health issues, your monthly premium is the same as a 70-year-old male who’s been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

The only difference is his plan comes with a 2-year waiting period. Otherwise, the cost and guarantees are the same.

3. Lack of Flexibility

There’s not a lot of flexibility with Assurant Life of Canada pre-need plans.

If your needs change over time, being locked into a funeral home contract makes it difficult to change your plan. The insurance payout goes directly to the funeral provider, which means your family won’t have the option to use the money for other bills.

Most funeral providers across Canada are legitimate, hard-working businesspeople committed to providing their clients with the highest level of service. That being said, it’s not unheard of for funeral homes to go out of business, use misleading sales tactics, or misappropriate consumers’ cash. 

“funeral home was defrauded of approximately $120,000 after pre-paid funeral contracts with customers were not deposited into a trust account”

Greg Davis, Global News

4. Assurant Uses Mostly Exclusive Agents 

Chances are, if you’re speaking with an agent selling Assurant insurance, it’s the ONLY product they offer. Does that mean they’re not providing excellent service to you or other clients? Absolutly not; it just means they can’t quote or discuss different solutions. This is something you should be aware of as a consumer. It’s good to ask any agent you’re working with whether they sell other companies’ products. Hey, there are valid reasons for having tied agents. For example, you must be a licensed funeral director or pre-planner to sell any pre-need funeral product involving a contract with a funeral provider. This is not the case with Assurant’s final expense insurance, which requires no contract.

Is Assurant One of the Best Funeral Insurance Companies in Canada?

Assurant Life of Canada (Canada Purple Shield), rebranded as Trustage Life of Canada in 2022, is an excellent carrier with a long history of providing Canadians with preneed funeral planning solutions. They’re the country’s largest funeral insurance provider and do a great job of helping consumers navigate this space.

Rest assured, if you have a funeral insurance plan or final expense policy with Assurant, it will pay out to your funeral home or family, which is guaranteed. 

But the question is, are they the best solution for you?

If money is no issue and you’re looking for a terrific “set it and forget it” funeral solution, Assurant is a great option. 

They’re also ideal for seniors in their late 70s with serious health issues who don’t qualify for an affordable plan with traditional life insurance companies. These seniors are already in the higher-risk pool, and it is often better for them to go directly to a funeral provider and start a Purple Shield plan underwritten by Assurant.

But Money is an Issue for Some of Us

However, if you’re a healthy senior on a fixed income looking for the best bang for your buck, Assurant may not be your top option. It’s always a good idea to visit a funeral home to get your detailed wishes on file, but you don’t have to sign a contract and start a pre-need insurance plan to begin the process.

Get Quotes from Assurant and Other Final Expense Insurance Companies Before You Decide

Shopping for other funeral insurance companies in Canada may save you up to 30% on your premiums. Not to mention, these plans can be more flexible by nature.