OMA Life Insurance vs. Individual Life Insurance is an important comparison for Ontario physicians who want to determine whether their existing OMA coverage is enough or whether an individually owned life insurance policy could provide additional flexibility and long-term protection.

OMA life insurance can be an important part of a physician’s insurance portfolio. However, group coverage and individually owned life insurance can work differently. Understanding those differences can help you determine which approach — or combination of both — is appropriate for you.

Is OMA Life Insurance Enough?

There isn’t one answer for every physician. Your insurance needs can change significantly as your income, family responsibilities, mortgage, investments, corporation and estate grow.

Rather than looking at OMA coverage in isolation, we help physicians review their existing coverage and determine whether it continues to meet their short- and long-term objectives.

OMA Life Insurance vs. Individual Life Insurance

Feature	OMA Life Insurance	Individual Life Insurance
Ownership	Coverage provided through the OMA group plan	Policy is individually owned by you
Coverage Length	Depends on the specific OMA plan and its terms	Choose term coverage or permanent coverage for life
Premiums	Based on the OMA plan, age and applicable rate schedule	Premium structure is established when the individual policy is issued
Portability	Subject to the terms and eligibility requirements of the OMA plan	Individually owned and generally not tied to an employer, association or medical practice
Coverage Options	Options depend on the coverage available through the OMA plan	Broad selection of term, whole life and other permanent insurance options
Permanent Coverage	Depends on the specific OMA coverage selected	Permanent policies can provide lifetime coverage
Cash Value	Depends on the type of OMA coverage	Certain permanent policies can accumulate cash value
Customization	Features are determined by the available OMA plan options	Coverage, payment period and policy features can be selected based on individual needs

Why Physicians May Consider Individual Coverage

Individual life insurance doesn’t necessarily have to replace your OMA coverage. In many situations, the two can complement each other.

For example, a physician may maintain cost-effective term insurance for temporary needs while establishing individually owned permanent life insurance for needs expected to continue throughout life.

This can be particularly relevant for physicians who have accumulated significant assets, own a professional corporation, have substantial tax liabilities, want to leave an estate to their family or are looking for permanent insurance that isn’t dependent on a group plan.

Term Life Insurance for Physicians

Individual term life insurance can provide substantial coverage at a relatively low initial cost and may be appropriate for temporary obligations such as:

• Mortgage and personal debt
• Income replacement
• Family protection
• Education funding
• Business or professional obligations

Depending on the insurer and policy, term insurance may also provide the ability to convert some or all of the coverage to permanent insurance without new medical underwriting, subject to the policy’s contractual terms and age limits.

Permanent & Whole Life Insurance for Physicians

For physicians who require coverage for life, participating whole life insurance may provide permanent insurance together with guaranteed policy values and the potential for additional values through dividends.

Dividends are not guaranteed, but participating whole life can be designed to address long-term objectives such as estate preservation, final tax liabilities, wealth transfer and corporate insurance planning.

Policies can also be structured using limited-pay options, such as a 10-Pay or 20-Pay, allowing the required base premiums to be completed before retirement, subject to the terms of the policy.

Professional Corporation & Estate Planning

For incorporated physicians, life insurance may also form part of a broader corporate and estate strategy.

A corporation can own and pay for a life insurance policy where appropriate. Upon death, life insurance proceeds received by a private corporation can potentially create a credit to its Capital Dividend Account (CDA), generally based on the death benefit received less the policy’s adjusted cost basis immediately before death.

This may allow qualifying amounts to ultimately be distributed to shareholders as tax-free capital dividends, subject to Canadian tax rules and proper professional advice.

Should You Replace Your OMA Coverage?

Not necessarily.

The objective shouldn’t automatically be to cancel OMA insurance. In some cases, keeping existing OMA coverage while adding individually owned insurance may provide an effective combination.

Before replacing or reducing existing coverage, we recommend reviewing:

• Your current OMA certificate and coverage
• Current and future premiums
• How long the coverage can remain in force
• Conversion privileges
• Existing individual policies
• Family and income-protection requirements
• Corporate insurance needs
• Expected estate and tax liabilities
• Your retirement timeline

Only after reviewing the complete picture should you determine whether keeping, supplementing or replacing coverage makes sense.

Complimentary Insurance Review for Ontario Physicians

Already have OMA life insurance?

We can review your existing coverage and compare it with individually owned term and permanent life insurance options from multiple Canadian insurance companies.

The objective is not simply to sell you another policy. It’s to determine what you already have, identify potential gaps and determine whether your current insurance strategy still makes sense for your family, corporation and estate.

Request a complimentary OMA Life Insurance Review

Have your latest OMA insurance certificate or coverage statement available and we’ll help you compare your existing coverage with the alternatives.

Physicians considering permanent coverage may also want to learn more about our Whole Life Insurance options.

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Important Information

This page provides general information only. OMA insurance provisions, premiums, eligibility, conversion privileges and other terms can vary by plan and may change over time. Your current OMA certificate and policy documents should be reviewed before making any insurance decision. Life insurance availability and pricing are subject to eligibility and underwriting. Tax and estate-planning strategies should be reviewed with your qualified tax and legal advisors.