BMO Insurance Offers LifeProvider

Get free medical advice
with LifeProvider.
Photo by Jane Liu.

Family. Work. Relationships. Life.

It can get overwhelming at times, even when it's going well. But it can all be thrown into chaos when there's an illness, or a family member suddenly requires special assistance, or a loved one passes away. Luckily, there are still places where you can turn. BMO Insurance is offering a Universal Life policy called LifeProvider.

Canada Protection Plan: Simplified Life vs. Deferred Life

Find the plan
that's right for you.
Photo by Ben W.

Canada Protection Plan is a Canadian company, which is a leading provider of non-medical life insurance solutions, underwritten by Unity Life.

They offer simplified life plans and deferred life policies.

Non-Medical Final Expenses Plan: 5 Questions and You Qualify

Applying for life insurance
just got easier
 

Wawanessa Life has a non-medical final expenses policy that makes applying for life insurance easy.

The plan features include:

• Applicants 45 to 75 can apply
• No medical Tests
• Four coverage increments

Premiums are guaranteed level and the plan is paid up in 20 years.

Why Life Insurance Can Be Ideal for Final Expenses

Grandma's hand
Photo by Jimmy Davao

No one wants to leave their family holding the bag when they pass on, not with bills, debts and funeral expenses. This is why Life Insurance can be an ideal fit for final expenses. The following benefits are hard to ignore:

Long-Term Care Insurance: An Under-Served Market

Are advisors missing an opportunity
with Long-term Care insurance?
Photo by Edwin Kelly Tofslie

Recent statistics compiled by the Life Insurance Marketing Research Association [LIMRA], and published in the January 2010 issue of the Insurance Journal,  have shown that there were only 7,847 long-term care policies sold in 2008 -- marking a decline compared to the previous year. In total, there were only 60,000 long-term care policies in-force in Canada at the end of 2008, accounting for $80 million in annual premiums.

Since there are 85,000 advisors licensed to sell insurance in Canada, the Journal's stats reveal that the average advisor sells less than one long-term care insurance policy per year.

5 Reasons It Makes Sense to Insure Children with Life Insurance

It may make sense to insure your kids
photo by Kipp Jones

Putting a life insurance policy on a child may seem like just something insurance broker parents do to collect an easy commission. After all, they have no dependents and they're expected to out live those that raise them. Not so fast, there is a method in the perceived madness. 

The following are 5 reasons why insuring a child can make sense:

Canada Protection Plan Deferred Term Life Policies

 Don't Despair.
You can still qualify for life insurance
even with a poor health history.
Photo by Drew Herton

Canada Protection Plan, underwritten by Unity Life, is one of the leading providers of simplified-issue term life policies. Their Deferred Term 10, Term 20 and Term 100 policies are only available without a medical and have a limited number of health questions.

The applicants can qualify for the plan even if they have been treated for some of the following ailments:

Empire Life Announces Enhancements to Class Plus Plans

As of December 31, 2009, Empire Life has introduced additions to its Class Plus investment product.

The first being the extension of the bonus period past the first 15 years to the lifetime of the annuity. Now, you'll be able to receive a 5% annual income base bonus every year as long as no withdrawals are made that year.

In addition, you'll be able to receive your Lifetime Withdrawal Amount a full year earlier. Previously, you could only get it the year after you turn 65 and now you can receive it the year of your 65th birthday.

The new enhancements apply to contracts currently in-force and new Class Plus contracts. If these new rules appeal to you, feel free to give our office a call at 1-866-899-4849.

La Capitale’s Exceptional RRSP Rate (5-year + GIC)

Retirement should be easy.
Credit:  tldagny

La Capitale is ushering in a great five-year RRSP Rate with a GIC. The package matures in May 2015.

Rates

• 3.75% in the first year.
• 3.25% in subsequent years.
• 3.35% is the average rate.
• $500 is the minimum investment.
• $500,000 is the maximum investment.

The plan is available for registered and non-registered accounts, if you're interested please call our office at 1-866-899-4849 to investigate this, or other RRSP possibilities. 

Blue Cross Disability Insurance: It Can Happen to You

Disability can happen to anyone,
young or old.
Photo by Pablo Prez.

According to the Toronto Sun, Paul Thomas was enjoying a day at the beach in July 2009, when navigating the sloping Simcoe WaveDeck proved to be too much for him to handle. The 47-year-old severed a tendon in his left leg and suffered a partially broken kneecap when he fell after trying to descend from the deck's first wave and up to its next highest level.

Life Insurance and Natural Disaster

Thousands of Canadian Haitians are holding their collective breath waiting for word on the fate of their friends and family, while the rest of us are counting are lucky stars that the same potential fate didn't befall us.

Haiti Earthquake by UNDP

According to the United Nations Environment Programme's Global Environment Outlook, earthquakes are among the most expensive natural disasters, along with floods and windstorms. Earthquakes accounted for 30% of all damage by natural disasters from 1950-2001. Howver, they account for only 9% of the human cost, paling in comparison to famine, which killed 42% of people, but accounts for only 4% of the total damage over those years.

Guaranteed Issue vs. Simplified Issue: A Snap-Shot Comparison

Guaranteed-Issue, Simplified Issue
What's the difference?
Credit: Lee

There is much confusion when it comes to non-medical life insurance. Many people assume that non-medical life insurance means that there are no health questions whatsoever. Some policies do fall into this category. However, non-medical life insurance can generally be broken down into two categories:

Business By Design’s Retirement Plan for Small Business

Business By Design's unique retirement plan
may be the answer for your team.
Photo by Lee Chisholm.

Only 5% of small businesses in Canada offer a Group RRSP to their employees, which is why Business By Design has partnered with Standard Life to offer a unique group retirement benefits plan for small to mid-level business owners and their employees. The plan is marked by clear investment choices, streamlined implementation and simple administration. It is known as, Express.

Term 100 Coverage versus Universal Life Insurance

Universal Life vs. Term 100.
Confused? Don't be.
Photo by Larry Vincent

Term 100 coverage is a very straight forward form of permanent life insurance. The premiums are level for life and the coverage remains fixed for life. Most Term 100 policies have no cash values.

Universal Life coverage is available in many formats. The cost of insurance can go up on an annual basis, allowing for higher cash accumulation in the later policy years, or you can get a level cost of insurance where the premiums where the cost remains level for life (similar to a term 100 plan).

Universal life policies, with a level cost of insurance, offer applicants the ability to put extra funds in an accumulation fund. These values can be used to generate a paid-up policy in a limited number of policy years.

The premiums on Term 100 coverage are very similar to Universal Life coverage, with a level cost at the minimum premium.

Life Insurance for Smokers vs. Non-Smokers

Smoker by Valentin Ottone

Life insurance companies generally classify an applicant as a smoker if he or she has used and form of tobacco during the last 12 months. The difference in premium can be substantial.

How LSM Brokers and Clients Both Win

"Our team is happy
to advocate on your behalf."
--Lorne S. Marr

Our brokers operate under the philosophy the clients want to buy but don't want to be sold. Our brokers and clients both win because our team follows the principals below:

1. Under promise and over deliver. By following this mantra, clients never feel cheated. Our brokers know they can deliver on their word.

2. Independent analysis. Our brokers are not skewed in their advice and are not limited by company quotas. They work with over 13 different carriers, which insures that our clients get the best possible value.

Underwriting Guidelines: Alcoholism is Not a Barrier to Life Insurance

A dependence on alcohol does
not have to bar you or your family
from the benefits of life insurance.
photo by "phogel"

Occasionally we take a look at those factors that mean the difference between approval and denial when it comes to qualifying for life insurance. Today, as we come back from the no doubt champagne fueled festivities that rang in the new year, we reveal that an alcohol addicted past is not necessarily a barrier to insurance -- at least, not according to the underwriting guidelines of Manulife Financial.

(Underwriting Guidelines: Alcoholism is Not a Barrier to Life Insurance continued...)