Manulife Financial Increases Rates on Level Cost Universal Life Policies

Manulife is increasing
its Level Cost of
Insurance Rates
on Universal Life Policies
Photo by Phil Brown

Manulife Financial is increasing the Level Cost of Insurance rates on its Universal Life policies, effective October 15, 2011.

The following is a summary of the changes:

1. Manulife’s Level cost of insurance rates are being increased for Single-Life and Joint Last-to-Die coverage on all new Innovision, Security UL, Limited Pay UL, and Ultra Vision policies (Ultra Vision offers a switch to Level Cost of insurance), along with coverage additions on existing policies.

Desjardins’ Stronger than Cancer Promotion

Cancer still kills, which is why Desjardins Financial Security has decided to protect your family's financial health if you find yourself fighting for your physical health.

This is why they're offering a free 25% gross-up on Critical Illness Benefits up to a bonus of $100,000 for the following eligible products:

• Harmony T100 (excluding Harmony Executive)
• Harmony T75 paid-up
• Harmony T65
• Harmony T10/T20
• Consumer's CI T10/T20 (The promotion is not available to those 61-65 under the simplified version of this policy)
• Consumer's CI Simplified Issue (Maximum benefit is $75,000 including gross-up)
(Desjardins' Stronger than Cancer Promotion continued...)

RBC Insurance Announces 47 New Branches

RBC will be expanding
its insurance outlets
across Canada
Photo by Benson Kua.

After spending the past two years improving customer service at its existing branches, RBC has announced plans to open 47 new insurance branches across Canada.

"We’re going to continue to build on our retail platform,” RBC Insurance Chief Executive Officer Neil Skelding told Bloomberg. “Our retail strategy has worked very well, and we’ll continue to pursue that.”  

The Royal Bank only added ten insurance branches over the past two years, compared to 43 between 2005 and 2009, delaying its goal of 100 offices to focus on sales and distribution strategies in hopes of improving customer service.

Disability Insurance Solutions from Canada Life

Canada Life has
a variety of
disability insurance solutions.

Canada Life offers two individual disability insurance solutions:

1. Lifestyle Protection Plan - This program is designed for professionals, business owners, executives, and high-earning employees. The plan is a unilateral contract, which means it can only be cancelled or modified by the insured.

Canada Life cannot raise the premiums or change the plan provisions before the insured turns 65. After age 65, the insured may continue to modify the coverage on an annual renewable basis as long as they continue to work full-time.

Canada Life disability policies have lower premiums but fewer built-in features than most disability carriers. Their policies have a large selection of optional riders, including 'Own Occupation,' Partial Disability, Extended Partial Disability, and Residual Disability riders.

Critical Illness Insurance’s Automatic Increase Benefit Rider

What you need to know
about the Automatic
Increase Benefit Rider.
Photo by wlodi

A select number of Critical Illness providers in Canada have an automatic increase benefit rider.

This rider allows the insured to automatically increase their critical illness insurance benefit at scheduled intervals. These automatic increases also mean that premiums go up according to the percentage of each scheduled increase.

For example, RBC Insurance offers an Automatic Increase Benefit Rider that allows the insured to exercise their critical illness benefit every second policy anniversary before the rider terminates.

Great West Life’s Disability Insurance

Great West Life offers
disability policies for
employees and business owners.

 Great West Life offers the following four different personal disability insurance programs:

1. Its Professional Series product is designed for professionals, business owners, and employees looking for high-end disability insurance coverage.

2. Its Boss Plus plan is exclusively designed for business owners who are concerned about interruptions to their cash flow if they become disabled.

Boss Plus includes the following built-in features:

Canada Protection Plan No Longer Accepts Money Orders

Canada Protection Plan no longer
accepts money orders.
Photo by Garry Knight

Canada Protection Plan will no longer accept money orders as a valid form of payment for new, pending, and inforce business, effective September 23st, 2011.

The decision was made because of concerns over money laundering, which opens CPP up to significant legal and business risks because money orders can be used to hide the source of money and make illegal funds seem legitimate.

Gerber Life’s Grow-Up Plan

Gerber has a life insurance plan
meant to grow with your kids.
Photo by Kipp Jones

Gerber Life Insurance Company has been operating since 1967 and specializes in working with young families on a limited budget.

They are licensed to buy life insurance throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, where the Grow Up Life Insurance policy is available in all provinces except Quebec, and is unavailable in the territories.

The Grow Up Life Insurance policy is a Whole Life life insurance policy tailored to healthy children ages 14 days to 12 years. The policy is available in face amounts of $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, $25,000, $30,000, and $35,000.

Life Insurance: Costco and Manulife Financial

Costco offers a
term life insurance plan.
Photo by Greenwenvy08

Costco offers term life insurance policies underwritten by Manulife Financial that are available to Costco Members. They can purchase policies with face amounts of $50,000 to $500,000 in multiples of $25,000.

Examples:

A 45-year-old, female non-smoker can get $150,000 of supplemental life insurance for $24.36 per month.

A 45-year-old, male non-smoker would pay $28.56 per month for the same $150,000 of coverage.

The rates on the policy are level for a five-year term. However,compared to similar coverage with outside carriers sold through independent brokers, the plan does not fare favourably.

Life Guaranteed Burial Expense Life Insurance Policy

Gerber Life will cover
your burial expenses.
Photo by Megan Ann

Gerber Life offers a burial expense life insurance policy to potentially insured individuals age 50 or older, up to age 75. 

In addition, the policy can offer face amounts of $3,000, $5,000, $7,000, or $10,000 in coverage. Thankfully, there are no health questions and no medical tests, and the plan has a built-in guaranteed cash value.

Co-operators Critical Illness Insurance

The Co-Operators is now offering a critical illness insurance plan through its career sales force with the product name Critical Assist II. The premiums on the policy are level for 10 years or 25 years and are renewable to age 75.

They also offer a T-75 (Term to 75) that is guaranteed level to age 75. There are no conversion privileges on their critical illness plans. There is an optional return of premium at expiry benefit on their Term to 75 plan.

For more details on critical illness insurance in Canada, please contact us at 1-866-899-4849 or visit our Critical Illness Quote Page.

Critical Illness Plan for Children

Equitable Life is now offering
insurance for children.
Photo by wester

Equitable Life recently revamped its Equiliving Critical Illness Plan.

On July 25th, Equitable Life made its critical illness product available to children. Children between the ages of 30 days and 17 years can now be insured against five childhood illnesses and disabilities, including Type 1 diabetes, mellitus, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, congenital heart disease, and cerebral palsy.

Equitable Life is offering new features for adults as well as children on their critical illness coverage. The early detection benefit has been increased to 15% of the face amount of the insurance, up to a maximum of $50,000.

The return-of-premium at surrender has been simplified, and the return-of-premium at death is now optional. Equitable Life stated in the August 2011 issue of Insurance Journal that these changes allow more flexibility to design coverage that meets the needs of consumers. In addition, the insurer is making coverage definitions easier to understand through simpler wording.