Life Insurance - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Yes. BMO Insurance supports paper-based applications as well as SmartApp, the BMO Insurance eApp. You can order the paper-based application through your MGA or print a copy right from the Forms and Materials page. SmartApp is accessible from the BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal.

When your contract is activated, you will receive 2 emails; one with your User ID and one with your temporary password. The two emails will be sent to the email address indicated in your contracting paperwork. You will have 7 days to activate your account.

Once you have successfully logged in (activated your account), you will be asked to change your temporary password and establish your Multi Factor Authentication (MFA).

If you have not received your User ID and temporary password and your BMO Insurance contract is active, go to the BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal, and select “Other issues with Sign-in?”. Complete and submit the required information and you will be contacted. Alternatively, you can send an email to insurance.dst@bmo.com with the subject line USERID REQUIRED. Be sure to provide your name, active advisor code, email address and phone number.

Commissions are generated each Wednesday and include cases settled from the prior Wednesday to Tuesday. You can track your case from submit through settle on the BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal. Once you have logged in, select the Portfolio tab; Sales Tracking will be the default page. You can view your business by selecting Pending, Settled or All Statuses from the Status drop down menu and choose a date range from the Period drop down menu. You can also search by policy number or insured last name.

Yes. Login to BMO Insurance's Advisor Support portal. Once logged in, select the Commission tab. On the left-hand side under Financial heading, select Detailed Activity; the default view will be the current commission period. Use the Previous button to scroll back one commission cycle (week) at a time. Your commission statements can be viewed under the Reporting heading by selecting Commission Stmt.

Login to BMO Insurance's Advisor Support portal, under the Forms and Agreements tab, select Contracting and Compensation Forms. Select the Schedule of Commissions 425E.

Yes. Direct deposits are made for all amounts of $50.00 and more where we have banking information on file; for payments by paper cheque there is a $500.00 limit before the payment will be made.

Login to the BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal, select the Portfolio tab. Select Policy Listing and the listing of the policies that you service will generate.

Information regarding conversions can be found on the BMO Insurance Advisor page by searching the keyword “conversion”.

Conversion Guidelines

Conversion Form

Note: There is a conversion check box on the Wave illustration software. When checked, it will display the plans available for conversion. Keep in mind minimum plan requirements must be met.

• Be sure to answer all questions on the application as completely as possible; any missing information will cause delays.
• For universal life and BMO Insurance Whole Life applications, be sure to include a signed illustration with client and policy details that match the application details.
• Fully complete and submit all required supplementary forms with the application. Be sure that you add details to all questions with “yes” answers. Remember to include: reason, dates, results, pending investigations and any additional details the client may give you.
• Using SmartApp and SmartDelivery are excellent ways to ensure an application is completed in good order and submitted to BMO as efficiently as possible.
• Ensure that you use the current version of the desktop Wave illustration software and, if the paper application is used, the current version of our Application for Life Insurance and Critical Illness Insurance 126E.
• Ensure that your license and E&O insurance are always current.

For status reports, please contact your MGA or access Sales Tracking, which can be found in the Portfolio tab on the BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal. Once you have logged in, select the Portfolio tab; Sales Tracking will be the default page. You can view your business by selecting Pending, Settled or All Statuses from the Status drop down menu and choose a date range from the Period drop down menu. You can also search by policy number or insured last name.

No. Non-face-to-face applications are to be completed using SmartApp. Handwritten paper applications completed over the phone will not be accepted and will be returned to the Advisor to be completed electronically.

If a Tele-Interview, Paramedical or Medical Exam is an age and amount requirement for the plan requested, you may choose to not complete the Medical Information section and the Medical History section. Note that if you choose not to complete the medical questions on the application and your client is subsequently rated or declined coverage due to medical history developed, the underwriter will not be able to provide you with details of the decision due to privacy legislation.

Yes, we will deduct the initial premium to place a policy inforce when you select this option on the application.

Note: We will deduct the initial premium once all other settling requirements have been received in head office. If the initial premium method is chosen, temporary insurance is not available.

Yes, we accept visa and Mastercard to pay the INITIAL ANNUAL premium only. Subsequent premiums can be paid via pre-authorized debit or cheque.

Note: The maximum that can be paid via credit card is $100,000. Please complete the credit card section of the Application for Life Insurance and Critical Illness Insurance 126E. For SmartApp, you must complete the Payment and Authorization for New Policies 950E and upload it with the application.

For Universal Life plans, simply divide the annual premium by 12. For all other plans, multiply the annual premium by the modal factor (Monthly = Annual x 0.09, Semi-annual = Annual x 0.52).

Cases where all settling requirements are received in our head office by Monday, will have commissions paid on the following Wednesday. Should the Monday be a statutory holiday, settlement requirements received by the previous Friday will be paid commissions on the following Wednesday.

Please refer to the following primary underwriting resources:

- Rovr AI, our Generative AI Bot on Advisor Support (Login Required)

- Underwriting Guidelines 319E (Login Required) 

- Field Underwriting Manual – Life Insurance 984E

- Accelerated Underwriting FAQ 870E

Login to the BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal. In the Search bar on the top right-hand side of the screen, you can search by policy number or insured last name.

BMO Insurance’s Underwriting Guidelines 319E are accessible through the BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal, in the Forms & Agreements tab.

BMO Insurance’s forms and questionnaires can be found through:

• The Forms and Materials page.  
• The BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal, Forms & Agreements tab.

Information regarding conversions can be found on the BMO Insurance Advisor page by searching the keyword “conversion”.

• Conversion Guidelines
• Conversion Form

Note: There is a conversion check box on the Wave illustration software. When checked, it will display the plans available for conversion. Keep in mind minimum plan requirements must be met.

• Email us at: insurance.clientservices@BMO.com
• Call us toll free at 1-800-387-4483

You can request an inforce illustration by emailing a completed Request for Universal Life In-Force Illustration 317E form to insurance.inforceillustration@BMO.com.

Clients can make a payment online through their financial institution.

• Payee: BMO Life Assurance Company
• Account Number: 811+policy number

If a third party is submitting payment, we will require the Verification of Identity and Third Party Determination 576E form submitted (section 1.2). This form only needs to be signed by the servicing advisor, not the client.

These transactions could incur surrender and/or market value adjustment (MVA) charges. There also may be tax implications associated with these requests. Prior to submitting the request, please ensure your client fully understands the potential implications.

Upon surrender, outstanding loans will be paid from any cash value prior to the funds being released to the client.

A partial withdrawal may reduce the face amount. Please review the policy contract for details.

If your client is a non-resident, non-resident withholding tax may be applicable. An authorization form will be provided that is required to be signed by the policy owner prior to the funds being released.

A face amount decrease within a Universal Life policy may incur surrender charges.

Yes, EFT is our preferred method to send funds to your client. It is the fastest, most secure method. If the client already has “banking information on file” with us, they can select this option on the Request to Cancel or Surrender Your Policy 747E form. If they have not previously provided this information, they must attach a void cheque.

• For life insurance policies, complete the Request to Change Beneficiary Designation 625E form.

• For critical illness policies, use the Beneficiary Designations for Critical Illness Policies 626E form.

Please note that we require a wet signature for all provinces, except when the client resides in Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec. If your client is in one of the other provinces (besides Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec) and signs electronically, we require the audit trail to be submitted with the request.

In all instances, complete the Name Change or Correction 629E form.

For an individual name change, submit a copy of valid government-issued photo identification demonstrating this change.

For a corporate name change, submit supporting documents.

To record a POA on a policy, we require all pages of the Power of Attorney document to be submitted.

If your client moves outside of Canada, we require the appropriate Declaration of Tax Residence completed:

• RC518 Declaration of Tax Residence for Individuals

• RC519 Declaration of Tax Residence for Entities

The primary purpose of a signature (whether electronic or “wet”) is to provide evidence of the signatory’s identity, intent to sign, and agreement to be bound by the contents of the document.

We accept e-signatures from the following platforms:

• OneSpan
• iGeny
• DocuSign
• Adobe

The e-signature audit evidence must be submitted with the request, including:

• the signature panel with details/indication of signature validity, or
• the separate signing evidence document produced by the eSignature platform.

No. The BMO Insurance Advisor Support portal requires a unique User ID and password that is linked to your book of business. 

Your BMO Insurance User ID and password is unique to you and is linked to your book of business. You are responsible for keeping your clients’ information and need to take steps to ensure their privacy.

Each policy is customized to the needs of the insured. At the time of a claim, BMO Insurance makes every effort to ensure that we provide the appropriate forms for completion based on the type of coverage and type of claim.

To request claims on behalf of your client, complete the form on the Claims page and Submit.

If you have any questions, contact us at 1-866-355-8855 or email us at Insurance.claims@bmo.com.

A claim is considered contestable if the claim event occurs within 2 years of the policy issue date or the date of the latest reinstatement. Medical records will be requested to confirm that:

• all health questions on the application were answered correctly.
• the full medical history was disclosed as required.
• coverage should have been issued as approved by BMO Insurance.

This information is required to:

• verify the cause of death
• confirm the diagnosis
• confirm smoking status
• obtain medical history
• review contestable claim

Benefit payment can be made by:

• cheque
• direct deposit into the claimant’s account with certain restrictions:
  • Direct deposit is only available for payments to the claimant’s personal account at a Canadian Bank or Canadian financial institution
  • Direct Deposit CANNOT be used if the claimant/beneficiary is an estate, trust, corporation or other entity

With respect to medically assisted deaths, while we cannot offer a decision without reviewing the claim documents, below are some of the criteria for consideration at claim time. These criteria may be updated from time to time as required.

Providing all conditions outlined in the Criminal Code with respect to Medical Assistance in Dying are met, BMO Insurance will assess the claim as follows:

• • If the Insured person received medical assistance in dying within 2 years of the policy effective date or date of last reinstatement, the claim will be processed in accordance with our normal and customary contestable claim review.
  • If the policy is in force for more than 2 years and the suicide exclusion period has expired, the claim will be processed in the same manner as any other cause of death.
  • Any underlying condition and/or any excluded condition will be taken into consideration.
  • The cause of death will not be considered suicide.
  • The cause of death will be treated the same as any other cause of death.

Please familiarize yourself with the Government of Canada medical assistance in dying web page where you will find information with respect to eligibility, how the request process works, reporting requirements and read reports published about medical assistance in dying in Canada.