Wawanesa Life's Universal Life plan is referred to as Quest. The basic insurance plan provides level coverage for life. There are also two guaranteed Cost of Insurance (COI) charge options available: level monthly charges for life, and an increasing COI option. The increasing option has level monthly COI charges to age 65 or for 15 years, whichever comes first; then the COI charges increase and remain level thereafter.

The investment options on the Quest plan are very limited compared to other carriers. AIG, for example, has over 400 investment accounts available, while Wawanesa has six investment accounts: a daily interest account, fixed interest account, Canadian equity index account, U.S. equity index account, International equity index account and a Canadian bond index account. The policy has a built-in guaranteed investment bonus of 1% of the plan's accumulation value from years three to 24; from years 25 and beyond this bonus jumps to 1.25% of the plan's accumulated value.

Preferred rates are not available on the Quest plan. As an example of their pricing, a 45-year-old male non-smoker who applies for $250,000 of Universal life level cost coverage will pay a minimum premium (i.e., the premium to keep the plan in force) of $188.46 a month.

Wawanesa Life's Term 10 and Term 20 Plans

Wawanesa Life, a major property and casualty carrier, offers Term 10 and Term 20 insurance, coined LifeStyle Term. The Term 10 plan is available for applicants between the ages of 18 to 70, and the Term 20 plan is available for applicants between 18 to 60 years old. Both plans are renewable and convertible, and are available on an individual, multi-life or first-to-die basis. The plans are available with a disability waiver, accidental death benefit, and children's term rider. The children's rider is available in amounts of $2,000 to $20,000, and the cost is $5 per year per thousand dollars of insurance regardless of the number of children. One quirk in these plans is that children's term riders are not available on Joint Life policies.

Both plans also have preferred rates on face amounts greater than $250,000, and are convertible without a medical to age 70 into permanent policies.

Below are examples of Wawanesa Life's Term 10 rates at $250,000 of coverage:

........................Standard Rates:.....Preferred Rates:

35yr. male N/S:....$19.13/month......$15.08/month

45yr. male N/S:....$33.08/month......$25.65/month

55yr. male N/S:....$72.45/month......$55.35/month