Buying Disability Insurance in Ontario: The Two Best Plans

Compare the two leading disability
insurance providers in Canada.
Photo by Chelsea Oakes

Two of the leading disability insurance carriers in Ontario are RBC Insurance and Manulife Financial.

RBC Insurance’s head office is in Mississauga, Ontario and Manulife's is in Waterloo, Ontario. They both have competing high-end plans geared towards the professional market. RBC's plan is called The Professional Series. Manulife plan is known as The Pro Guide Series.

The following is a comparison chart pitting some of their plan features head-to-head:

Term Life Insurance Rip-Off

In some cases,
Term Insurance can be a rip-off.
Photo by Tudor

Is Term life insurance affordable insurance protection or just a band-aid solution? The answer is both. Term Life policies offer cheap premiums in the initial policy years, but the premiums rise significantly at the policy renewal.

Most term 10 life insurance policies offer premiums level for the first 10 policy years, but at the policy renewal premiums will increase anywhere from 300% to 800%. An example $500,000 Term for a 40-year-old male, non smoker with Canada Life is $385 a year. The renewal premium is $2500.

The question might be then, why not always take a Permanent policy? i.e. one with a fixed premium and lifetime time protection. The answer is:

La Capitale’s Broader Access to Best Doctors

La Capitale offers extended
access to Best Doctors.

Best Doctors is a service that's often offered as part of countless Critical Illness insurance plans. It is a medical diagnosis and treatment consultation resource featuring an internationally recognized group of top specialists from within the country. They provide second opinions and advise on treatment plans to many Critical Illness sufferers in Canada.

La Capitale sets itself apart by offering extended access to Best Doctors that provides access to medical consultations at the first manifestation of a serious illness.

RBCs Universal Life Plan Two Little Known Facts

Learn the little known facts of
RBC Universal Life.
Photo by Andy Rennie

RBC offers a highly competitive Universal Life plan with many unique policy features. Two little known facts about RBC's Universal Life plan are the following:

1. They offer a 10-year guaranteed investment option within their Universal Life policies with a minimum guaranteed rate-of-return of 3.5%.

2. They offer banding discounts on their Universal Life policies with a term insurance rider. Most insurance companies, including RBC, have price bands, i.e. the higher the face amount, the lower the cost of insurance per thousand. RBC has four band rates.

Empire Life – Critical Illness Policy – 10 Facts to Consider

Empire Life's Vital Link
may be a CI policy to consider.
Photo by Robby McKee

Empire Life's Critical Illness policy is called Vital Link. The policy is very competitively priced at most age levels and face amounts.

The following are 10 features of the plan:

1. It's available throughout Canada.

2. It's available as a stand-alone policy, or as a rider on Empire's life insurance plans.

3. It's available for insured ages 18 to 65.

4. Face amounts can be anywhere from $25,000 to $2m.

5. The policy is available as a 10-year term, Term to 75, or a Term 100 policy.

Life Insurance in Canada: Smoker versus Non-Smoker Rates

Smoker by Valentin Ottone

If you smoke and are looking to buy life insurance in Canada, you can expect to pay a much higher premium than a non-smoker. On Term policies the premiums can be more than double on permanent plans the difference in rates is less pronounced.

The insurance definition of a smoker is male or female who uses nicotine, including cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, a nicotine patch and nicotine gum.  Remember that to qualify for preferred rates, the insurance company can look back up 12 months.

Term Insurance versus Permanent Insurance

Learn the difference between
Term and Permanent insurance
for your family's sake.

Term insurance policies offer premiums level for a stated term, as opposed to permanent insurance policies, which offer premiums level for the insured's lifetime. The following are additional differences between Term and Permanent life insurance policies.

ScotiaLife Financial’s Term One Insurance

Visit Scotia Bank for a
new insurance option.
Photo by MoToMo

ScotiaLife Financial's Term One Life Insurance is available to Scotia Bank Group customers. Life Insurance coverage amounts can range from $50,000 to $1,000,000. Additional policy details on Scotia Bank’s plan are:

BMO Guaranteed Life Plus vs. The Easy One Life Insurance Application

You don't need to visit BMO
to buy their plans.
Photo by Paul.

BMO Insurance offers two non-medical life insurance policies. Both plans are sold via their call center and not through their broker network.The first plan is BMO's Guaranteed Life Plus, which is a Guaranteed Issue Plan. Individuals age 40 to 75 will qualify immediately, whether or not they have a serious health issue.

BMO's Easy One life plan is a Simplified Issue Policy and is available to individuals aged 50 to 75. There are no medical tests, but the individual must confirm they do not have a serious illness.

Additional differences between the two policies are:

FlexCare Manulife Enhancements Starting Sept.1

Manulife FlexCare is increasing
their benefit amounts.
Photo by SFT HQ

You've probably seen the commercials for Manulife FlexCare plans on television. Well, as of Sept. 1, 2010 various enhancements will be added to the program and the benefit to members will be increasing.

For those unfamiliar, the Combo Plus Starter plan is a non-medical health and dental plan that does not require the filling out of medical forms,  the undergoing of medical exams or the answering of health questions in order to qualify.