July 31st, 2009
The Disability Waiver of Premium rider
takes financial stress away,
so you can still play sports
like you use to.
Disability Waiver of Premium is a rider available on most life insurance policies.However, most insurance companies have a maximum issue age on the rider of 60, so applicants over that age will not be able to add this rider.
The Disability Waiver of Premium is intended to waive the insured's premiums should he or she become disabled. Essentially, the insurance company will forgo future premiums while the insured retains the policy benefits. Remember though, there is usually a waiting period of 90 days.
The disability waiver feature differs from company to company, but often expires at age 65. The one major caveat is that most insurance companies change the definition of disability to "Any Occupation" after two years. Under this definition, total disability means not being able to work in any occupation. Therefore, if the insured is a computer consultant and their disability prevents them from working at their primary occupation, but they can still work as a checkout clerk at a grocery store, they won't receive a cent. Still confused? You can find a more comprehensive explanation of disability definitions here.
The Disability Waiver of Premium is intended to waive the insured's premiums should he or she become disabled. Essentially, the insurance company will forgo future premiums while the insured retains the policy benefits.
Given the limitations of the Disability Waiver of Premium rider, the applicant is far better off looking at his or her disability insurance through a more holistic lens i.e. the insured should have an adequate amount of disability insurance to protect the needed percentage of his or her total income. It's usually recommended that the insured cover anywhere from 50%-66% of their total income. That income, which is tax free (assuming the premiums are paid with after-tax dollars) can then be used to pay for food, household and other related expenses, including the insured's insurance policy.
The one exception to this rule is applicants with high-risk occupations. On traditional disability policies, landscapers have a higher-risk occupation than physicians and pay a much higher premium. But, with the Disability Waiver of Premium, the risk charge is the same for both occupations. In this instance, it makes sense if traditional disability insurance is unaffordable because something is better than nothing.
You can get a free disability insurance quote at our Disability Instant Quote Page, or contact us at 1.866.899.4849 for more information.
July 24th, 2009
RBC Insurance underwrites the Edge product line and recently announced exciting updates to its Simplified EDGE Disability Plan.
The most significant update is a New Executive Class.
The Edge offers a very simple application process for applicants who don't want to go through all the medical and financial requirements of a traditional disability insurance application. The plan previously had four application classes: B, BB, A, AA. "B" being the lower classification given to high-risk occupations like sand blaster and roofer, which will pay a higher premium. The "AA" classification is for low-risk occupations, such as speech therapist and office manager.
The New Executive Class has rates that are at least 10% lower than the "AA" classification and applies to occupations such as radiologist, lawyer, physician and surgeon.
To get a free personalized quote visit our Disability Insurance Instant Quote Page or contact us at 1.866.899.4849.
July 24th, 2009
Equitable Life re-priced its Term 10 and Term 20 policies, effective July 1, 2009. Equitable Life has been providing life insurance to Canadians since 1920 and its one of the few insurance companies that's still a mutual insurance company, i.e. one owned by the policy holders.
Equitable Life isn't stopping at changing their term rates; it's also introducing a sixth rate band for policies in excess of $2,500,000. Rate bands are issued to give a cost per thousand discount for higher amounts of coverage. Insurance premiums are not generally linear, i.e. a $500,000 policy costs less on a per thousand basis than a $250,000 policy.
Most insurance companies have rate bands at $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000. Equitable Life's Band 6 makes it an ideal insurance company for high-networth clients looking to purchase larger term policies.
Equitable Life also introduced a conversion privilege within its Term 10 policy, which allows the insured to covert not only to a permanent plan without a medical, but from a Term 10 to a Term 20 policy within the first five policy years without a medical.
Below is pricing for the top three companies in Canada for a 40-year-old male, non-smoker for $500,000 of Term 10 and Term 20 coverage, as of July 23, 2009. Equitable Life is currently ranked #1 in Canada.
$500,000 Term 10
Equitable Life: $35.55/month
Canada Life: $36.45/month
RBC Insurance: $36.90/month
$500,000 Term 20
Equitable Life: $62.55/month
Canada Life: $63.45/month
BMO: $63.90/month
You can get a free quote at our Term Insurance Instant Quote Page or contact us at 1.866.899.4849.
July 24th, 2009
Currently, the Public Health Agency of Canada reports that 10,890 Canadians have been diagnosed with the H1N1 Influenza, more commonly referred to as Swine Flu. This has led to 53 confirmed deaths and the unfortunate distinction of being the country with the highest number of confirmed cases per capita in North America.
With that title, the insurance industry couldn't help but take notice. The onset of the virus has not caused a change in pricing, but many insurance companies have issued underwriting guidelines for applicants who have contracted the disease.
While Swine Flu is not directly mentioned on any current life insurance applications, the diagnosis can be revealed through indirect questions. Virtually all applications ask when was the last time the applicant visited the doctor and ask the applicant to provide the reason for the visit.
Applicants that carry Swine Flu generally fall into three categories:
Applicants who currently have the virus: Most insurance companies will not cover someone with Swine Flu. Some non-medical applications may be an option for those who want immediate coverage.
Applicants who were diagnosed, but not hospitalized: These applicants can generally qualify for traditional life insurance, but most insurance companies will want to see that the insured is free of symptoms and complications for at least three months.
Applicants who were diagnosed and hospitalized: Underwriting decisions can vary dramatically depending on the severity of the treatments. At a minimum, most life insurers will want a period of stability up to at least one year. The insured may have to get reinsurance as well. A reinsurance company shares the risk of an insurance policy with the original insurance company.
Underwriting requirements may very well change as more information on the H1N1 Influenza virus (Swine Flu) is released to the public. My article on Life Insurance and Underwriting may also be helpful.
Feel free to contact us at the office, 1.866.899.4849 if you have additional questions.
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one comment
July 21st, 2009
Injury Only coverage is
inexpensive disability protection.
image by sarah may scott
Disability insurance is generally divided into two broad categories.
There are policies that cover both injury and illness related disability, but there's also Injury Only policies that provide coverage for disabilities caused just by injuries.
The World Health Organization estimates that of the 600 million people living on the planet with disabilities, 25% have disabilities due to injury, while the remaining 75% are due to illness. Since Injury Only disability insurance covers a generally smaller percentage of potential disabilities, the premiums are often much cheaper than policies that include potential disabilities caused by illness.
One advantage of Injury Only coverage, is that it generally does not factor in the insured's overall health because a healthy person does not have a more significant chance of being injured than an unhealthy person. Injury Only disability insurance premiums are more heavily impacted by the insured's occupation, i.e. a landscaper would pay higher premiums than a lawyer or a pharmacists.
Below are examples of pricing for an Injury Only and Injury and Illness Disability coverage for a 45-year-old male, non-smoker who is considering $3,000/month in disability coverage with a 30-day elimination period and a five-year benefit period.
The cost of RBC Insurances's Injury Only coverage called, The Edge (the leading provider of Injury Only insurance) is $29.25/month. * However, illness-related coverage would include the added cost of $107.64/month.*
*The above rates assume an AA classification, which is the best classification for The Edge disability product line and is usually limited to professionals like lawyers, executives, doctors and other low-risk occupations.*
You can get a free online quote for disability insurance at our Disability Insurance Instant Quote Page or contact us at 1.866.899.4849.
July 18th, 2009
Business Graph by Balazs Gal
This June, National Post Business released its list of the top 20 Candian life insurers and mutual fund sellers of 2008. Topping the list is Great-West Lifeco Inc. with $33,932,000 in revenue, $30,007,000 in premium revenue and $1,453,000 in profits. If you want to know the secret to its success in its own words, check out LSM's other article this week, The Strength and Stability of Great-West Lifeco.
The only place where Great-West Lifeco Inc. falls short is in the assets category. Its $130,074,000 is handily overtaken by the $187,500,992 in assets from Manulife Financial Corp. In third place, Sun Life Financial actually beats Manulife Financial Corp. in profit by $300,000 with $857,000, compared to Manulife's $517,000. On the losing end, Transamerica Life fell to 13th place, posting only $430,344 in revenue and $428,810 in premium income. This was the industry's largest loss of the year. Still, Blue Cross Canassurance Group did only just enough to make the list. This despite being named one of Alberta and Winnipeg's top employers of 2008 by the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal and Winnipeg Free Press, respectively. Find out whether your life insurance provider made the list below: National Post Business Top Life Insurers of 2008
Revenue Premiums Profits Assets
GreatWestLifeco $33,932,000 $30,007,000 $1,453,000 $130,074,000
Manulife Financial$33,003,000 $23,252,000 $517,000 $187,500,992
Sunlife Financial $15,563,000 $13,587,000 $857,000 $119,883,000
Industrial Alliance $4,465,000 $4,282,000 $75,000 $15,415,000
Desjardins $2,891,100 $2,868,400 $34,500 $13,759,200
Standard Life $1,780,340 $1,269,323 $2,180 $16,366,753
SSQ $1,529,700 $1,411,300 $25,800 $2,307,500
RBC Life Insurance $1,285,577 $895,785 $110,078 $5,205,006
La Capitale C.S.M. $1,027,563 $1,005,795 $39,420 $3,035,869
The Cooperators $748,246 $634,335 $46,950 $2,469,031
Empire Life $688,378 $686,178 $48,370 $3,746,806
BMO Life Assurance $565,424 $251,399 $45,777 $3,101,347
Transamerica $430,344 $428,810 $583,368 $6,460,035
Forresters $377,891 $72,752 $197,126 $6,200,562
Equitable Life $300,051 $294,132 $30,508 $1,131,834
Green Shield $296,239 $297,414 $12,390 $313,926
The Cumis Group $277,631 $186,550 $17,209 $803,091
Primerica $268,100 $191,717 $63,071 $531,736
Transfers Guarantee $210,785 n.a. $41,348 $795,715
Blue Cross Canassurance $190,994 $30,295 $11,094 $312,847
July 16th, 2009
Your insurance rates
could be vastly
different from your spouse's.
image by Ian MacKenzie
All things being equal, insurance rates for women are much less than they are for men.
The reason for this is the average woman in Canada lives to age 82, while the average man lives to age 77, according to Statistics Canada.
Other variables, beyond age, that impact price include, the applicant's health, smoking status and lifestyle or occupation risks.
The chart below indicates the difference between insurance rates for men and women under a variety of plans from the leading insurance companies in Canada (plan definitions follow the chart):
40-year-old male, non-smoker @ $500,000
Equitable Life: $35.55/month - Term 10 @ $500,000
$52.55/month - Term 20 @ $500,000
Industrial Alliance: $114.75/month - Term 30 @ $500,000
Assumption Life: $230/month - Universal Life Term 100 @ $500,000
Manulife: $391.84/month - 20 pay insurance @ $500,000
40-year-old female, non-smoker @ $500,000
Equitable Life: $25.65/month - Term 10 @ $500,000
$43.55/month - Term 20 @ $500,000
Industrial Alliance: $83.20/month - Term 30 @ $500,000
BMO Insurance: $182.83/month-Universal Life Term 100 @ $500,000
Manulife: $323.86 - 20 pay insurance @ $500,000
Term 10 premiums are level for ten years
Term 20 premiums are level for twenty years
Term 30 premiums are level for thirty years
Universal Life Term 100 premiums are level and payable for life
20 pay insurance premiums are level and payable after 20 years. The insured is then covered for his/her lifetime with no further payments.
You can get your own personalized quote by visiting our free Instant Quote Page, or contact us at 1.866.899.4849 for more details.
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4 comments
July 16th, 2009
Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding company that deals in life insurance, health insurance, retirement savings, investment management and re-insurance. Their operations are divided into Great-West Life, London Life, and Canada Life. They have a combined $333 billion in assets under management.
While everyone else is suffering financially this year, Great-West Life just announced that they're remaining strong and stable despite a decline in earnings. Great-West Lifeco reports a first quarter net income of $208 million, compared to $249 in the first quarter of 2008.
Despite this small loss, they were still able to garner a return to their shareholders of 16.2% for the 12 months ending March 31, 2009 and bring their quarterly common divdend to $0.3075/share, (5% higher than last year) putting them among the top performers of the Canadian financial sector.
Great-West Lifeco's balance sheet is one of the strongest in the industry, with a high-quality bond portfolio that's 99% rated investment-grade.Their subsidiary, Great-West Life, reported a Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (MCCSR) ratio of 205% as of March 31, 2009.
During the first four months of 2009, four major credit agencies (A.M. Best, Moody's Investor Service, Standard and Poor's Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings) re-affirmed Lifeco's credit rating with a stable outlook, despite the current economic outlook.
You can view their most up-to-date ratings on their public websites, including Great-West Lifeco's website.
July 14th, 2009
The recent dip in interest rates has forced insurance companies to re-visit the management expense ratios they're charging on their segregated fund lineup. With interest rates at all-time lows, this is wreaking havoc on the returns on Money Market Funds and, in some instances, could force negative returns.
Recently, Empire Life and Standard Life announced they're reducing their management fees on their segregated money market funds. These changes commenced in April 2009.
The management fees on Standard Life money market funds are now 0.4% for their Ideal 75/100 Series and their Ideal 100/100 Series, as reported by the Insurance Journal. Previously, these funds had management expense ratios of 1.2% and 1.5% respectively.
The Insurance Journal also reports that Empire Life has reduced its fees on Series "A" money market funds from 1% to 0.47%. The change is in effect until October 30, 2009.
July 14th, 2009
Group benefits for emplyees.
photo by Lindsey Lissau
According to Advocis, the Financial Advisors Association of Canada, over eight million Canadians have group disability insurance. With this type of disability policy, a whole group of people is covered, rather than just an indvidual - the bigger the group, the greater the sharing of risk.
There are no added features to group disability insurance and no individual assessment. The insurer will determine the premium rates based on the type of work the group does. They will also evaluate the claims, experience and age of those applying for coverage under the plan. The exact type of coverage is negotiated between the insurance carrier and the employer. Depending on the employer, they may offer short-term and long-term plans, but the majority just offer long-term plans. Group rates are typically negotiated on an annual basis and usually increase depending on the number of claims in the previous year.
After the first two years, the definition of disability often changes to mean that the insured cannot work in "any" occupation. Therefore, if you are a computer consultant and your disability prevents you from working your regular occupation, but you can still work as a checkout clerk at a grocery store, you will not receive a cent.
In group disability plans, there is usually a clause that will cover the insured for the first two years they are unable to work in their chosen occupation classification. This is called a "regular" occupation. However, after the first two years, the definition of disability often changes to mean that the insured cannot work in "any" occupation. Therefore, if you are a computer consultant and your disability prevents you from working your regular occupation, but you can still work as a checkout clerk at a grocery store, you will not receive a cent. Still confused? Get a further explanation of disability defenitions here.
One major drawback of group disability insurance is when the coverage ends. Your coverage will expire under the following conditions:
-
If your employment is terminated
-
If you retire
-
If your employer discontinues your employee benefit plan.
RBC Insurance has a hybrid group/indvidual disability plan referred to as Guaranteed Standard Issue. The plan has no medical underwriting, but applicants can keep their plan once they leave the group. You can get more details here.
Employees may be able to top up their group disability coverage with an individual plan. Individual disability plans also allow applicants to add riders like cost of living adjustment, or a future insurable rider, which allows the benefit to keep in line with inflation and increase the disability policy without a medical.
However, there is one caveat. Most insurance carriers will only cover up to 50-60% of the insured's net income and the percentage lowers depending on how high their income actually is, e.g. If the insured makes $200,000/year, they may only be covered for 40% of their net income.
You can get a free online disability quote at our Disability Instant Quote Page.
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July 9th, 2009
Empire Life announced increases in the minimum guaranteed interest rate in its Universal Life policies it coined Trilogy and Trilogy Plus. The increase will be on its 20-year guaranteed interest option within the Trilogy and Trilogy Plus plans, for deposits or transfers after June 30, 2009.
Interest rates will increase from 2.625% to 2.825%. On the surface, that may not sound like such an aggressive increase, but combine that with Trilogy's 1.2% policy bonus and Trilogy Plus's 1.5% policy bonus, giving you a total interest rate increase of 4.375%.
Considering historically low interest rates, and the fact that extra deposits in the account can grow on a tax sheltered basis, the after-tax rate of return is a very attractive feature to risk adverse applicants.
Interest rates will increase from 2.625% to 2.825%. On the surface, that may not sound like such an aggressive increase, but combine that with Trilogy's 1.2% policy bonus and Trilogy Plus's 1.5% policy bonus, giving you a total interest rate increase of 4.375%.
Below is an example of how the 4.375% guaranteed interest rate would benefit clients who are looking for a guaranteed investment with their Universal Life policy:
A 45-year-old male, non-smoker applying for $250,000 of Universal Life Trilogy Plus coverage, with a level cost-of-insurance, would have a minimum premium of $182.13/month. At this premium, the applicant's cost-of-insurance never increases. If the individual wanted to put in funds beyond the minimum premium, and had a policy which could be paid-up in a limited number of years, they could add to this premium. An extra $93.26/month (pushing the total premium to $275.39) invested at the guaranteed interest rate of 4.375% would provide a cash value of $36,667 after 20 years.
The cash value would be sufficient to offset future premiums for the insured's lifetime. As an added benefit, if the insured were to pass away prior to the cash value being depleted, the remaining amount would be paid on top of the original $250,000 to the beneficiary.
You can get a free online Universal Life quote from our Universal Life Instant Quote Page.
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2 comments
July 7th, 2009
There are many advantages
to Universal Life
Universal Life insurance offers many advantages when compared against other permanent insurance policies.
In particular, when compared with Whole Life, Universal Life allows the applicant to unbundle the investment component of the policy. On Whole Life policies, the investment component is built into the policy and premium. With universal, the investment component is seperate - premiums can increase or decrease.The applicant can also choose between a level and increasing death benefit. Most Universal Life policies offer a myriad of investment options. BMO Assurance Company (Formerly AIG Insurance) offers over 400 investment solutions in its Universal Life plan, ranging from guaranteed investments, like GICs to, higher risk, specialty mutual funds.
When compared with Whole Life, Universal Life allows the applicant to unbundle the investment component of the policy. On Whole Life policies, the investment component is built into the policy and premium. With universal, the investment component is seperate - premiums can increase or decrease.
The crux of any insurance product is the risk charge associated with the plan. This is where Universal Life can get confusing. Most insurance products have one risk charge, i.e.your premiums are level for a specific term or for life. Universal Life insurance allows the applicant to choose between different risk charges. Some companies even allow the applicant to segment the policy into different risk charge components. There are generally four "cost of insurance" options on a Universal Life policy. The following is a snapshot of how each work:
1. Increasing Cost of Insurance: On this option, the charge starts very low, but increases on an annual basis until age 100. The advantage here is that the cost of insurance is very low in the intial policy years, which allows the applicant to maximize the cash value in the early policy years. The disadvantage is that the cost of insurance becomes extremely high in the later policy years and if the underlying investment under performs, it may be insufficent to carry on the coverage.
2. Level Cost of Insurance: With this option, the cost of insurance is based on Term 100 costs, i.e. the cost of insurance never goes up as the insured gets older. The advantage of this option is cost certainty for the insured (always knowing exactly how much it will cost). The disadvantage is the intial cost is much higher so the cash value isn't as significant in early policy years.
3. A Hybrid Insurance: Many insurance companies offer this option, which includes an increasing cost of insurance with the option to switch to a level cost at a certain point and time. This hybrid scenario is designed for people who want to maximize their cash value in the early policy years, but prefer to have cost certainty in their policy in later years.
4. A Limited-pay Insurance: In recent years, insurance companies have introduced a Universal Life policy with a Limited-pay option. These policies are based primarily on a non-participating Whole Life plan, i.e. the cost of insurance can be paid-up in 10, 15, or 20 years. Many huge national insurance companies are now offering this type of plan including, Manulife, Canada Life and Industrial Alliance.
Remember, you can get a free Universal Life Quote at our Universal Life Instant Quote Page, or contact us at 1.866.899.4849.
July 7th, 2009
Remember the McCain and Obama health care plan battle? The main difference between the two plans was primarily the candidates' stand towards the employer -based health care insurance. McCain's core aim was to get people to switch from the employer-based system to individual plans by taxing the employer-based health insurance benefits and providing tax credits to individuals ($2,500) and families ($5,000), offsetting the purchase of an individual health care plan. Obama on the other hand had the opposite agenda - to get even more people into the employer-based system. Medium and large companies would be required to either offer a health care coverage or they would have to pay extra tax in order to contribute to public insurance plan ("pay or play").
Obama's program
Since the presidential campaigns are long gone and only Barrack Obama will get the chance to implement his program (in this presidential term anyway), let's have a look at his health care reform in more detail.
The proposed reform was build around three main issues:
Let's focus on the first goal. This is probably the most important feature of the proposed system. There are already various state-run programs that are supposed to provide some kind of health insurance to those unable to buy private insurance - typically the elderly, disabled or poor. Medicare (for those over 65 years of age), Medicaid (for poor/very poor, disabled), SCHIP (for children) or various veteran programs are the most noted. The trouble with those programs is that there are still millions of Americans left without any insurance at all. For example, about 60% of poor Americans are not covered by Medicaid. When those without an insurance get sick eventually, they wait until the later stage of the illness before seeing a doctor. The treatment is then more expensive than if the illness was taken care of in the earlier stages. This increased cost is of course paid by raising premiums of those properly insured.
Obama's aim is to create another public program similar to Medicare that will be available to cover all those with no access to any other already existing option (the employer-funded plans or government programs). And this is where Canada comes into it: the Canadian health care system is often used as an example by both the proponents and opponents of the Obama's reform. While the first group usually emphasize the lower cost, fairness and the accessibility of the Canadian system, its opponents generally come up with repetitious misconceptions, which I will now try to address.
US misconceptions;
So what are the most cited misconceptions of the Canadian health care system?
The Canadian health care system is too expensive - way more than the US system.
First of all there is this cost-related myth. It is often claimed that the Canadian system is more expensive than the US system, but in fact while Canada spends only 10% of its GDP, covering 100% of its population, the USA spends over 15% GDP, while at least 15% of the population is not covered at all and even more are people left with not enough coverage. For example in 2005, the US spent US$6,401 per capita on health expenditures - that's almost twice the sum spent in Canada that year - US$3,359.
In Canada, it's up to the government to decide who gets the treatment.
Another repeated misconception is that the Canadian government makes the decisions on who gets health care and when. That's totally wrong: the only people making these decisions are in fact the doctors. Unlike in the US, where no matter what you doctor says - if your insurance administrator says you're not getting it, then that's it.
The plan only covers the bare basics, so you end up paying a lot on any extras anyway.
Every province has its own rules concerning what is and what is not covered by the public health insurance. But mostly it's all the doctor's fees, tests, everything that happens in the hospital. It usually doesn't cover the medical equipment, dental and vision care and other extras. But since all the costly items are covered and these extra charges are quite predictable, there's number of private insurance plans like Manulife's FlexCare Program available, offering low premiums that take care of their extra expenses. All in all, you end up having access to any treatment you might need, paying much less for the public & additional health insurance combined than what the Americans has to pay for the same level of access.
It takes ages to get treatment in Canada. In fact, Canadians rather travel to the US for their treatment.
If you need some kind of specialist treatment, you might wait a few weeks or up to a month, and for selective surgery the waits are even longer. But if you need an urgent treatment, you get it fast. No matter if you're poor or rich. If you need your treatment fast and it for some reason it isn't available at the moment when you need it, you might be sent to the US, but that is also covered by your insurance! Only those Canadians who pay out of pocket for their treatment in the US wish to get the treatment faster than their doctor finds necessary.
In Canada, the doctors work for the government. And the government picks the doctor for you!
Nope… the doctors do not work for the government. The doctors have, just like in the US, their private practices, and only have to deal with one insurer, which is the provincial government. And of course you can pick the doctor yourself.
July 6th, 2009
Go inside the insurance business to see what it takes to become a successful broker. Push your business to the next level with the 10 tips in our Broker's Section.
July 4th, 2009
disability insurance by Joe Hall
It goes without saying that Mortgage Disability Insurance is linked to your Mortgage. Most lending institutions tie this type of insurance in with their existing mortgage life insurance plans.
On the surface Mortgage Disability Insurance may seem like a good idea, but it has several limitations.
(
Mortgage Disability Insurance vs. Indvidual Disability Insurance continued...)
July 3rd, 2009
RBC Insurance is pleased to announce a simplified process for life claims.
Express Claims is a new service RBC Insurance is offering clients that will help speed up the proces life claims up to $25,000.
How Does it Work?
As long as the policy has been inforce for 5 years or more and has a named beneficiary, (policies listed with an estate are not eligible) there is no paperwork required. All we need to process the claim is:
Why the change?
With this new, client-friendly approach, we'll be able to pay those claims within five business days, an 85% efficiency [improvement] compared to last year. This will allow us to focus our more experienced resources on adjudicating larger claims that require more investigation while providing superior service to all clients.
Lorne's Comment:
This is great news for brokers and clients. It insures the beneficiary will receive his/her money fast, without the headaches. It would be terrific if the face amount on Express Claims was extended beyond $25,000.
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2 comments
July 2nd, 2009
It's important to understand
limited pay before you sign on.
Limited-pay Whole Life insurance plans provide guaranteed level premiums, lifetime protection and the policies are guaranteed paid-up after a limited number of years.
Unlike other permanent life insurance policies, which allow for a quick pay option, limited-pay policies are fully guaranteed i.e. the payment period will not vary depending on the underlying investment performance. A Universal Life policy with an underlying equity investment might project a pay period of 15 years, but if the markets tank, the insured may have to pay for up to 25 years. This element of risk is eliminated by a Limited-pay Whole Life policy.
Limited-pay policies are fully guaranteed i.e.the payment period will not vary depending on the underlying investment performance.
Limited-pay policies can be non-participating or participating. Participating policies pay a dividend. The dividend can be used to increase the death benefit of the policy, which gives the insured a hedge against inflation. Participating Whole Life policies are generally more expensive than non-participating ones. The payment period on a Limited-pay Whole Life policy can be anywhere from 10, 15 to 20 years, or even until age 65. Unity Life has a unique Limited-pay Whole Life Plan called Life Option Enhanced, which allows the insured to select the pay period for the policy.
The following is a snapshot of the top five non-participating, 20-year-pay Whole Life policies with $500,000 of coverage for a 40-year-old male, non-smoker:
Manulife: $391.84/month
Empire Life: $423.00/month
Desjardins: $428.40/month
Wawanesa: $476.10/month
Union of Canada Life: $488.77/month
It should be noted that the guaranteed cash values in Limited-pay policies can also vary dramatically between companies. In the above example, Manulife's guaranteed cash value at the end of 20 years is $61,000, whereas Empire Life's guaranteed cash value following the same length of time is $103,000.
You can get a Limited-pay Whole Life insurance quote at our free Whole Life Instant Quote Page, or you can call us at 1.866.899.4849
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2 comments
July 1st, 2009
Save money with the
best Term 10 plans in Canada
Term 10 life insurance can seem like very basic and straightforward coverage. In the purest sense, Term 10 means level premiums for ten years and a level death benefit.
Most policies also have a guaranteed renewal ability that allows the insured to renewal their policy without a medical.
TIP: Buy policies with a renewal benefit.
Premiums vary sharply from one company to another. Most term policies are guaranteed convertible, meaning they can be converted to a permanent plan without a medical.
TIP: Look into the permanent plans that the term provider offers. Some companies have a conversion feature, but only a limited number of highly priced permanent plans.
Many Term 10 policies in Canada have special features; these are features that are above and beyond the normal Term 10 contract.
For example, AXA Assurance has a built-in extreme disability benefit that pays the insured up to 50% of the face amount of the policy in the event of extreme disability, up to a maximum of $250,000. The extreme disability must occur prior to age 60.
Unity Life has several built-in special features, including a $4,000 critical illness benefit.
Manulife allows the insured to add a children's term rider at very low cost, which allows children under the policy to upgrade their policy up to 25 times the original face amount without a medical.
The following is a comparison of $500,000 of Term 10 coverage for a 40-year-old male, non-smoker. Notice that the top three premiums are relatively close together, but the bottom three have huge gaps in pricing.
Equitable Life $35.55/month
Canada Life $36.45/month
RBC Insurance $36.90/month
The Cooperators $42.75/month
Assumption Life $57.75/month
Union of Canada $71.31/month
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