When your life changes, your benefits may need to change too. Canada Life calls these family status changes, like getting married, welcoming a baby, adding eligible dependents, or a spouse losing benefits coverage elsewhere.
Big life moments, smart benefit moves
Here’s what you’ll need to do to ensure that you have the coverage you need:
- Make your changes within 31 days of the event date.
- Provide documentation, like a birth certificate, adoption paperwork, or loss of coverage letter, if requested.
- Fill out the Group Coverage Change form and submit it directly through the Benefits Zendesk, and the Benefts Team will submit everything to Canada Life.
These moments aren’t always predictable, but your benefits can be. If you miss the 31-day window, Canada Life may treat the change as late. That means you may not be able to add coverage right away, your dependent may be considered a late applicant, and coverage could be delayed, limited, or require approval from Canada Life before it begins.
If you wait past 31 days to submit your family status change, your request will need to go under medical underwriter and evidence of insurability.
Late applicant process
If your change is late, Canada Life may require additional information before coverage can be approved. Once submitted, your application may be reviewed by Canada Life’s Group Medical Underwriting team. You’ll be notified when a decision is made. If approved, coverage generally begins on the approval date, and dental coverage may be limited for late applicants.
Note: Some updates are important even if they don’t change whom you cover, like a name change, province of residence, or employment change, or no longer having any eligible dependents. If you’re not sure what to update or what documentation to provide, submit a request directly to Benefits Zendesk. These are important events that require updating:
- Getting married or entering a common-law relationship
- Getting divorced or ending a common-law relationship
- Birth or adoption of a first child
- Adding eligible dependents or applying for family coverage
- Your spouse losing benefits coverage elsewhere
- Death of a spouse
- Death of your only eligible child
- No longer having any eligible dependents
- Change of name, division, class, or province of residence, or employment changes
