Compare Health Insurance
Compare Health Insurance in Canada: What to Look For
Private health insurance in Canada fills the gaps your provincial plan doesn't. Drugs, dental, vision, mental health, and travel costs can add up fast. Here's how to compare plans confidently and avoid surprises.
What Provincial Health Plans Don't Cover — and Why That Matters When Comparing Plans
Canada's provincial health plans (such as OHIP, MSP, RAMQ, and others) cover core medical services like doctor visits, hospital stays, and emergency care. However, they leave significant gaps that private health insurance is designed to fill.
When comparing private health insurance plans, these gaps matter because not all plans fill them in the same way.
Here are the main areas provincial plans typically do not cover, and what actually differs when you compare private options.
Prescription Drugs
Most provincial plans provide limited or conditional drug coverage, often focused on seniors, children, or specific programs.
Private plans vary widely in:
- Annual drug maximums
- How dispensing fees are handled
- Overall generosity of prescription drug coverage
Because prescription drugs are the largest cost driver in private health insurance, differences here have a major impact on both premiums and long-term value when comparing plans.
Dental Care
Provincial plans generally do not cover routine dental care.
Private plans differ in:
- Coverage for preventive, basic, and major dental services
- Annual maximums
- Waiting periods before coverage begins
When comparing plans, dental coverage often highlights the trade-off between lower premiums with limited dental benefits versus higher premiums with broader dental coverage and higher annual maximums.
Vision Care
Eye exams, glasses, and contact lenses are typically out-of-pocket under provincial coverage.
Private plans vary in:
- Coverage amounts
- How often claims can be made
- Whether exams, lenses, and frames are treated separately
- Waiting periods before vision benefits become available
These differences can matter significantly depending on how often you use vision care and when you expect coverage to start.
Paramedical and Mental Health Services
Services like physiotherapy, chiropractic care, massage therapy, and counselling are not covered by provincial plans.
Private plans differ in:
- Whether limits are pooled or set per practitioner
- Annual maximums
- Per-visit caps
This is an area where plans can look similar at a glance but perform very differently in practice.
Travel Medical Coverage
Provincial plans offer very limited reimbursement for medical emergencies outside your home province or outside Canada.
Private plans differ in:
- Trip length limits
- Coverage amounts
- How pre-existing conditions are handled for travel, including stability period requirements
When comparing plans, travel coverage is often overlooked but can be one of the most consequential benefits, especially for frequent or longer trips.
Medical Equipment and Other Benefits
Items like orthotics, braces, hearing aids, hospital cash, and private duty nursing are generally not covered provincially.
Private plans vary in:
- Which items are included
- Coverage limits
- Replacement frequency
These benefits tend to be more plan-specific and are often where the fine print matters most.
Why This Matters When Comparing Plans
Provincial health coverage serves as the foundation of Canada's healthcare system. Private health insurance plans are designed to supplement, extend, and fill the gaps left by provincial plans.
Because each private plan fills those gaps differently, comparing plans side by side helps make those differences clear so you can see not just what is covered, but how well it is covered.
Why Buying Coverage Early Affects What You Can Compare
A basic rule of insurance is to buy coverage before you need it. For some reason, this idea often feels unintuitive when it comes to health insurance.
Many people assume they should be able to buy health insurance at any time and have it cover conditions they are already being treated for. When that doesn't happen, they understandably ask, "What's the point of health insurance if it doesn't cover what I already have?"
This confusion often comes from experience with employee group benefits, where coverage is automatic and pre-existing conditions are covered simply by being an employee. Personal health insurance works differently.
A helpful way to think about it is the same way you think about home or auto insurance. You buy car insurance before an accident. You buy home insurance before a fire or flood. Health insurance follows the same logic. It is designed to protect against future risk, not insure losses that have already occurred.
When comparing health insurance plans, timing matters because it directly affects which plans you can compare and qualify for, not just what they cost.
Pre-Existing Conditions Change Which Plans Are Available
Private health insurance plans treat pre-existing conditions differently depending on the type of plan.
If you apply while you are healthy, you may qualify for medically underwritten plans, which typically offer higher coverage limits and better overall value.
If you apply after a condition has developed, medically underwritten plans may exclude that condition. In some cases, your available options may be limited to guaranteed plans, which are designed to provide access to coverage but usually come with lower coverage limits and fewer features.
From a comparison standpoint, applying earlier gives you more plans to compare, not just better approval outcomes.
Premiums Increase With Age, and Insurability Changes Too
Health insurance premiums are age-banded, meaning premiums generally increase as you move into higher age brackets.
Buying coverage earlier does not permanently lock in pricing for life, but it does help preserve insurability. Applying earlier, with less health history, improves your chances of qualifying for stronger plan options as your circumstances change over time.
Comparing plans earlier helps ensure you have access to a broader range of plan options, rather than being forced into fewer choices later due to age or health history.
Medical Underwriting Is More Forgiving Earlier
Medically underwritten plans ask health questions and assess factors such as prescriptions, diagnoses, and treatment history.
Earlier in life, underwriting is often more straightforward and approvals tend to come with fewer exclusions. As health history accumulates, underwriting outcomes are more likely to include limitations or exclusions, which reduces the number of plans that make sense to compare.
Comparing plans while underwriting outcomes are more favourable allows you to secure stronger coverage and better overall value.
Coverage Terms Are Set Before Health Changes
Once you are approved and enrolled in a private health insurance plan, coverage generally continues as long as premiums are paid. You cannot be cancelled simply because your health changes or because you make claims.
Buying coverage earlier means your coverage terms are established before unexpected diagnoses, injuries, or chronic conditions arise. From a comparison perspective, this means choosing from the best available options calmly, rather than reacting under pressure later.
Why Timing Matters When Comparing Plans
Timing affects more than price. It affects which plans you can compare, which plans you qualify for, and how much value you receive.
Comparing and securing health insurance earlier helps preserve insurability, keeps more options available, and reduces the trade-offs you may face if you wait until coverage is urgently needed.
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What Actually Matters When Comparing Health Insurance Plans
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Picking the Right Plan Depends on Your Situation
There is no single "best" health insurance plan. The right plan depends on your age, health, family structure, and your coverage history.
Rather than treating everyone the same, it's more useful to understand how comparison priorities change based on your situation and where you are in life.
Younger and Generally Healthy
If you are younger and in good health, you typically qualify for the widest range of plan options.
What to prioritize when comparing plans
- Strong prescription drug coverage to protect against future diagnoses
- Solid travel medical coverage if you travel outside your home province or outside Canada
- Dental and paramedical benefits that support regular, preventive care
Why this matters
Applying while healthy preserves access to medically underwritten plans, which usually offer the strongest coverage and best overall value. At this stage, the goal is not to predict specific future health needs, but to secure broad protection while your options are widest and underwriting outcomes are most favourable.
Families
When comparing plans for a family, predictability and ongoing usability matter more than any single headline benefit.
What to prioritize when comparing plans
- Dental coverage that supports routine care for all family members, including higher annual maximums and orthodontic options where available
- Paramedical benefits that provide meaningful coverage per insured person, rather than focusing narrowly on a single service like massage
- Vision coverage that helps offset recurring, predictable expenses
Why this matters
Family healthcare costs tend to be regular and cumulative rather than catastrophic. While limits are always applied per insured person, families that consistently use their dental and other routine benefits tend to receive more practical value from their plan and maintain better long-term health outcomes.
Older Adults or Those With Health Conditions
As people age or approach retirement, eligibility and timing become just as important as benefit amounts.
What to prioritize when comparing plans
- Whether medically underwritten plans are still available
- Guaranteed issue or guaranteed acceptance options, especially when transitioning out of an employee group plan
- Application timing for guaranteed issue plans, which is often limited to a specific window
- Travel medical coverage terms, including stability period requirements
Why this matters
At this stage of life, many people are managing existing health conditions and may be retiring or leaving group coverage. Guaranteed issue plans can be especially valuable, but they are often time-sensitive. Understanding which plan types you are eligible for, and when, is critical to avoiding missed opportunities and unnecessary limitations.
Leaving an Employee Group Plan
Leaving an employee group benefits plan is one of the most time-sensitive situations in health insurance.
What to prioritize when comparing plans
- Guaranteed issue replacement options available during the conversion window
- Deadlines for applying after group coverage ends
- Ensuring continuous coverage with no gaps
Why this matters
Personal health insurance plans are structured differently than employee group benefits, and it is rarely possible or useful to try to replicate group coverage on an individual plan. What matters most is applying within the allowed window to preserve access to guaranteed issue options. Missing that window often means fewer choices and more restrictions.
Why Personalization Matters More Than General Advice
These examples show why generic recommendations fall short. Two people of the same age can face very different options depending on health history, province, and prior coverage.
Aeva's comparison process accounts for these factors automatically, so you are only comparing plans that actually apply to your situation, rather than filtering through options that were never relevant to begin with.
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Start comparing plansPlan Types in Canada
Private health insurance plans in Canada generally fall into three categories. The differences between them explain why two people comparing plans may see very different options.
Understanding these plan types helps make sense of pricing, coverage limits, and eligibility.
Guaranteed Issue (Conversion) Plans
Who they're for
People leaving an employee group benefits plan.
How they work
Guaranteed issue (conversion) plans do not ask medical questions and will cover pre-existing conditions, provided you apply within a specific window after your group coverage ends, typically 60 to 90 days.
What to know when comparing
- No medical underwriting
- Time-sensitive eligibility
- Coverage limits are usually lower than medically underwritten plans
These plans exist to preserve coverage during transitions from group benefits to personal insurance. Their value lies in access to coverage, not in maximizing benefit amounts.
Medically Underwritten Plans
Who they're for
People applying for personal health insurance without recent group coverage, particularly those in good or average health.
How they work
These plans require health questions and an assessment of medical history. Based on underwriting, coverage may be issued with exclusions for certain pre-existing conditions.
What to know when comparing
- Typically offer the highest coverage limits and best overall value
- Pre-existing conditions may be excluded
- Declines are uncommon, but underwriting outcomes vary
For those who qualify, medically underwritten plans usually provide the strongest combination of coverage and pricing available in the personal insurance market.
Guaranteed Acceptance Plans
Who they're for
People who cannot qualify for medically underwritten plans or who missed guaranteed issue conversion windows.
How they work
Guaranteed acceptance plans do not ask medical questions and are available to anyone, regardless of health history.
What to know when comparing
- Always available
- Lower coverage limits and higher premiums
- Designed to provide access rather than comprehensive coverage
These plans act as a safety net when other options are unavailable.
Why Plan Type Matters When Comparing
Plan type determines which options are available to you, how much coverage you can obtain, and how pricing is structured. This is why comparison results differ from person to person.
Aeva's comparison process accounts for plan type automatically, so you are only comparing plans you are actually eligible for, rather than sorting through options that were never realistic to begin with.
Costs and How Pricing Really Works
Health insurance pricing is not one-size-fits-all. Two people looking at the same plan can see very different prices depending on their age, province, and the type of plan they are eligible for.
Understanding what actually drives pricing helps explain why meaningful comparison requires personalization, not just browsing plan names and premiums.
What Affects the Cost of a Plan
Health insurance premiums in Canada are influenced by several factors, including:
- Age, as premiums increase as you move into higher age bands
- Province of residence, which affects pricing, benefits, and plan availability
- Plan type, such as medically underwritten, guaranteed issue, or guaranteed acceptance
- Coverage level, including reimbursement percentages and benefit maximums
- Family structure, such as single, couple, or family coverage
Medical underwriting does not typically increase premiums in Canada. Instead, underwriting outcomes usually determine eligibility and whether certain pre-existing conditions are excluded from coverage.
Because these factors interact, pricing cannot be meaningfully compared without knowing which plans you are actually eligible to apply for.
Why Comparing Premiums Alone Is Misleading
A lower monthly premium does not necessarily mean a lower overall cost.
Plans with lower premiums often have:
- Lower reimbursement percentages
- Lower annual or lifetime maximums
While premium affordability absolutely matters, focusing on price alone can obscure meaningful differences in protection. A plan with a higher premium but stronger coverage can result in lower out-of-pocket costs over time than a cheaper plan with restrictive limits.
Effective comparison looks at premium and coverage together, not in isolation.
How Pricing Changes Over Time
Most personal health insurance plans increase in cost as you age and as insurers reprice blocks of business over time.
No personal health insurance plan in Canada guarantees fixed pricing for life. Coverage generally continues automatically as long as premiums are paid, but premiums themselves are not locked in.
Understanding how pricing evolves over time is more important than focusing narrowly on the initial premium.
Why Carrier Websites Make Comparison Harder, Not Easier
Carrier websites are designed to explain individual products, not to help you compare across the market.
When comparing plans directly on carrier sites, you are often:
- Looking at plans you may not be eligible for
- Missing how plan type affects availability
- Comparing features without context
- Overlooking exclusions and limitations
On top of that, sourcing plans from multiple websites and attempting to build a meaningful comparison spreadsheet is extremely time-consuming and easy to get wrong.
How Aeva Solves This
Aeva applies eligibility rules, plan types, and pricing factors automatically. Instead of comparing everything, you compare only the plans that actually apply to you, with pricing and coverage shown in proper context.
This lets you focus on choosing the right trade-offs, rather than decoding insurance mechanics or chasing down PDFs.
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Frequently asked questions
- What does it mean to compare health insurance plans in Canada?
Comparing health insurance plans in Canada means looking at price and value together, not just one or the other. It involves seeing how plans differ in monthly cost, which benefits are included, how much coverage is provided for each benefit, whether waiting periods apply, and what optional add-ons are available. Comparing plans also helps you better understand what you are actually buying by making coverage details more transparent, which is the core goal of Aeva.
- What is actually compared when health insurance plans are compared?
When health insurance plans are compared, they are viewed side by side so differences are easy to see. This typically includes prescription drug coverage, dental and vision benefits, paramedical coverage amounts, waiting periods, pricing, eligibility rules, and available add-ons. Seeing plans together makes it much easier to understand how they differ and which options best fit your needs.
- How are health insurance plans compared on Aeva?
Aeva compares health insurance plans by showing you only the plans you are likely eligible for, based on details such as your province, age, recent coverage, and health history. Instead of searching through multiple insurer websites, you can see relevant options in one place and compare how they differ in price, coverage, and features. This also helps ensure you don't end up selecting a plan that isn't appropriate for your situation.
- Can I compare health insurance plans without applying?
Yes. You can compare health insurance plans on Aeva without submitting an application or committing to coverage. The purpose of the comparison is to help you understand your options first, so you can decide whether and when it makes sense to apply. Comparing plans does not create any obligation to purchase insurance.
- How do differences between health insurance plans affect coverage?
Differences between health insurance plans affect how much you are reimbursed, how often you can use certain benefits, and whether some services are covered at all. For example, two plans may both include prescription coverage, but one may have much lower annual limits than the other. Comparing plans upfront helps improve transparency and reduces the chance of surprises later.
- How do costs differ when comparing health insurance plans in Canada?
When comparing health insurance plans in Canada, costs vary mainly based on how much coverage a plan provides. Lower-cost plans often have lower coverage limits or fewer included benefits, while higher-cost plans usually offer broader coverage and higher maximums. Comparing plans side by side helps you clearly see what you are paying for and whether the additional cost of a plan provides meaningful extra value.
- How are pre-existing conditions handled when comparing plans?
Pre-existing conditions are handled differently depending on the type of health insurance plan being compared. Medically Underwritten plans require you to answer medical questions and generally exclude pre-existing conditions. These plans can be applied for at any time and typically offer the strongest overall coverage for people who qualify. Guaranteed Issue (conversion) plans do not require medical underwriting and will cover pre-existing conditions, but you usually must apply within a limited window, often 60 to 90 days after your employee group benefits end. Guaranteed Acceptance plans do not ask medical questions and will cover pre-existing conditions. These plans can be applied for at any time, but usually offer lower coverage limits and fewer benefits compared to other plan types. Comparing plan types helps clarify how pre-existing conditions are treated and which option best fits your situation.
- What types of health insurance plans can be compared?
Health insurance plans that can be compared include medically underwritten plans, guaranteed issue (conversion) plans, and guaranteed acceptance plans. Each type differs in how eligibility is determined, how coverage is structured, and how pre-existing conditions are handled. Comparing these plan types helps you understand the trade-offs between coverage, cost, and accessibility.
- How do prescription drug benefits differ when plans are compared?
Prescription drug benefits differ mainly in how much coverage is provided and how restrictive the limits are. Prescription drugs represent the largest cost for insurers and make up a significant portion of the premium you pay. Plans with stronger prescription coverage generally cost more, while lower-cost plans tend to have tighter limits. Medically underwritten plans typically offer stronger drug coverage than guaranteed plans, which is an important factor when comparing options.
- How do waiting periods factor into health insurance comparisons?
Waiting periods are important when comparing health insurance plans because they delay coverage for certain benefits after a plan starts. Dental and vision benefits commonly have waiting periods, during which claims are not reimbursed. Comparing plans involves understanding which benefits have waiting periods and how long those waiting periods last.
- Does province of residence affect health insurance comparisons?
Yes. Province of residence plays a major role when comparing health insurance plans. Each province and territory in Canada has its own public health care system, and private health insurance is designed to supplement those provincial benefits. Because public coverage differs by province, private plans, pricing, and availability also vary. Some plans are available in certain provinces but not others, which affects both comparison results and premiums.
- Why does Aeva perform health insurance comparisons inside the application?
Aeva performs health insurance comparisons using a guided comparison process because meaningful comparisons depend on personal details like province, age, family situation, employment status, prior coverage, and health history. Without this information, you could be shown plans that aren't relevant or well suited to you. Using this guided process helps ensure you are comparing plans that actually apply to your situation and provide better overall value.
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