Understanding the Disability Waiver of Premium

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.

RBC Insurance Announces Updates to the Simplified EDGE Disability Plan

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.

Hot New Equitable Life Term Rates

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.

Swine Flu and Life Insurance

  The antigenic shift of swine flu
from pigs to humans.
image courtesy
U.S. National Institutes of Health

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've contracted the disease.

Understanding Injury Only Disability Insurance

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.

Top Canadian Life Insurers 2008

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.

Comparing Life Insurance Rates for Men with Rates for Women

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 Strength and Stability of Great-West Lifeco

Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding company that deals in life insurance, health insurance, retirement savings, investment management and reinsurance. Their operations are divided into Great-West Life, London Life, and Canada Life. They have a combined $333 billion in assets under management.

Declining Fees on Money Market Segregated Funds

The recent dip in interest rates has forced insurance companies to revisit 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.

Group Disability Insurance in Canada

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.

Exciting Changes to Empire Life’s Universal Life Plan

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%.

Universal Life Insurance: Demistifying Costs of Insurance Options

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.

Health Insurance: A Challenge for Obama

Health Care Rally by Neil Parekh

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").

10 Ways to Become a Top Inurance Broker

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.

Mortgage Disability Insurance vs. Indvidual Disability Insurance

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.

Lorne’s Comment: RBC Insurance Announces Paperless Express Claims

 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.

Understanding Limited-pay Whole Life Insurance Plans

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.

The Best and Worst Term 10 Policies in Canada

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.