Wintertime brings out the grizzly bear in me. And by that I mean: all I want to do is cuddle up with my cubs and hibernate in a nice, warm cave. (I wouldn’t mind gorging myself on raw salmon first, either.) I just want my family to feel safe and happy. Some of that feeling can be achieved with wool socks and a crackling fireplace; the rest requires a little bit of actual human adulting.

I’ve managed to put off getting life insurance until, well, right now. But I’m starting to lose that feeling of invincibility that carries us through youth; I now have three furry little cubs that depend on me, and I want them to have every protection they possibly can.

Of course, I don’t like to jump into things without understanding them, so I decided I’d just get like, a dry-run quote. Not a real quote. Just a “hey, what if I fill out this form, just out of curiosity?” quote. Because what does life insurance even cost? And how much does it pay out if I die? And how do I apply? Also did I mention what does it cost?

I chose Sun Life because they make it So. Easy.

I chose Sun Life because they make it So. Easy. Their online quote request is barely even a form — it’s 6 questions: Sex/Age/Smoker or Non-Smoker/Province/Type of Insurance You Want/Amount of Coverage You Want. It took me about twelve seconds, and most of that was just remembering my own birth date. So, I’m Female, 33, Non-Smoker, in Ontario, and I want Simplified Term life insurance with coverage of $100,000.

Now, why do I want term? “Term” means your monthly premium stays the same for the 10-year term that you have the insurance. I’ve never bought life insurance before, so I’m not sure I’m going to like it. I don’t want to commit to a whole-life policy right off the bat; I’d like to be able to re-evaluate my needs in a decade.

But I like the idea of Sun Life’s “Simplified” plan because I don’t want to have to worry that my insurance might be difficult to maintain after the 10-year term. Applying for Simplified Life insurance is, well, simple. You only need to answer 3 basic health questions. Then, when the fixed-rate term is over, you don’t have to re-apply or answer any more health questions — your premiums just start to increase based on your age.

Why do I want $100,000 of coverage? Well, I used the online life insurance calculator and I want to make sure things like funeral expenses are taken care of, debts are paid, and I ensure as much income replacement as I can.

Now I know what life insurance costs: less than I spend on boxed hair dye every month.

When I crossed my fingers and clicked “get quote”, the monthly premium came up as $18.48. I don’t know what I was expecting, but that’s way less than I thought it was going to be. I suddenly realised that this quote wasn’t that hypothetical at all. Now I know what life insurance costs: less than I spend on boxed hair dye every month.

And now I know how easy it is to provide peace of mind.

And now I know how easy it is to provide peace of mind. A new year is coming, and purchasing life insurance really does make a difference to how I think about the future. It’s just nice to know it’s there. If you’re the same way, check out Sun Life. You can get a quote through the Online Self Service or with a professional Sun Life Advisor to suit your individual preferences.

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is the insurer, and is a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies