Level vs Decreasing Term: You Can do Both With Pick-a-Term

Industrial Alliance offers a unique term life insurance program called Pick-a-Term. It allows the insured to choose between a level and decreasing term policy.

The level term policy offers level premiums and a level death benefit, whereas their decreasing Term policy has level premiums and a decreasing death benefit. The latter plan has a lower initial premium and acts more like a creditor insurance plan, but the insured still chooses his or her beneficiary and the plan does not have to be linked to a mortgage. The Terms can range from ten years to 40 years.

Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance for Seniors

Guaranteed issue life insurance provides life insurance without a medical exam and with no health questions.

This is different than simplified issue life insurance, which is also available without a medical exam, but which has anywhere from three to 12 health questions. Guaranteed issue policies have higher premiums and lower face amounts than simplified issue plans, and most have a waiting period on the death benefit of two years or longer.

BMO Insurance is one of the leading providers of guaranteed issue life insurance for seniors. Their plan is called Guaranteed Life Plus and is only available through BMO's call centre — not through its broker network.

The plan features the following:

• Coverage for the insured aged 40 to 75
• Coverage is available in the following five premium options: $20/month, $30/month, $45/month, $60/month, and $75/month
• Cash values accumulate in the plan from year three
• Non-smokers and smokers pay the same rate
• The death benefit by non-accidental death is limited in the first two years to a return-of-premium without interest

Two other top providers of Guaranteed issue life insurance policies are The Edge, which is Underwritten by Industrial Alliance, and Bingham Group Services Corp. (BGS), which is Underwritten by Foresters Life Insurance Company. Both of these plans are available through independent brokers, as opposed to a call centre.

The Edge's guaranteed issue life insurance plan is available to applicants 18 to 85 and comes with face amounts anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000. The fact that they insure applicants up to 85 is a huge plus, and if the insured dies in the first two policy years, the payout is limited to a return-of-premium plus 10 per cent interest.

Acquisition of AXA Life Insurance Inc.

SSQ Life Insurance Company Inc. has purchased AXA Life Insurance Inc. The transfer took place in January 2012 with SSQ Insurance Company Inc. becoming the new name chosen for the subsidiary.

In accordance with the agreements between SSQ Life Insurance Company Inc. and AXA Insurance Inc., and as approved by the regulatory authorities, all activities of AXA Life Insurance Inc. will still continue under the new name.

All contracts held with AXA Life Insurance Inc. by clients, group insurance brokers, and financial security advisors will remain unchanged. Furthermore, the guarantees and rights stipulated in these contracts will continue to be upheld.

The contact details for SSQ Insurance Company Inc. will remain the same as those for AXA Life Insurance Inc.:

SSQ Insurance Company Inc.
2020 University Street, Suite 1800
Montreal QC H3A 2A5

Joint First-to-Die Life Insurance

Joint first-to-die life insurance policies cover both individuals (almost exclusively spouses) under one policy, while individual life insurance policies create two individual plans for each insured.

Some companies offer multi-life policies, which are essentially individual policies, but under one plan. Unlike joint first-to-die policies, multi-life policies stipulate that if one spouse dies, the other spouse can continue the coverage at the initial policy premiums.

Joint first-to-die policies also offer cost savings to the insured, but they come with limitations. In the event that the insured passes away on a joint first-to-die policy, the second spouse could be left with no life insurance coverage.

Guaranteed Issue: Mortgage Life and Disability Coverage

Bingham Group Services Corp. (BGS) offers a no medical guaranteed issue life and disability creditor insurance policy.

The plan is underwritten by Foresters Life Insurance Company and is available without health questions and without medical tests. It has the softest terms and conditions in the industry — meaning that it's the most consumer-friendly.

The insurance is portable and has automatic term renewal until termination (up to 35 years of amortization). The life insurance is available to applicants 18 to 69, up to 500,000. Total disability coverage is available to applicants 18 to 64, up to $3,000 per month.

Bingham Group Services Corp: BGS Mortgage Insurance Policy

Bingham Group Services Corp. (BGS) is Canada's leading third-party administrator in the business of creating marketing and administering group creditor insurance products. BGS products are underwritten by Forester's Life Insurance Company, which is a Canadian incorporated life insurance company providing financial security to Canadians.

Foresters originated in 1898 as the insurance department of the High Court of the Ancient Order of Foresters. They have been assigned an A minus (excellent) rating by AM Best.

One of the unique things about BGS products is that they have a true guaranteed issue plan available without medical questions and without medical tests.

For more details on a mortgage life insurance in Canada, please contact us at 1-866-899-4849 or visit our Mortgage Insurance Quote Page.
 

How to Tell a Book of Gold from a Book of Coal

One of the key questions all advisors in the market for a book of business are wondering in one way or another is how to tell the difference between a book to avoid and a book that's worth buying.

This is the perfect question to pose to our friends, Cameron Jacox and James Hilton, managing partners at Jacox-Hilton Corporation and true experts when it comes to book valuation.

One of the biggest red flags for a "book of coal," Jacox says, is a book that has been churned and that has left unhappy clients with products that they've been pushed into. The advisor has not acted in his own interest or the interest of his clients in these cases because the business as such is not sustainable.

Term Insurance Rates Cheaper Than Ever

As reported in the March 2012 issue of The Insurance and Investment Journal, 10-year term life insurance rates have reduced in cost drastically over the years. The article cites many examples of companies that have significantly reduced their premiums.

Transamerica Life for example, offered a 40-year-old, male non-smoker $500,000 of Term 10 coverage in 1998 at a rate of $510 per year and that same 40-year-old male non-smoker can now get $500,000 of Term 10 coverage for $365 a year.

Whole Life Insurance for Seniors

Whole life insurance comes in two types of plan varieties.

Firstly, there is participating Whole Life Insurance, which offers guaranteed premiums, lifetime protections, and both a guaranteed and non-guaranteed cash value.

The non-guaranteed cash value comes in the form of a dividend and is related to the insurance company's profitability as well as long-term interest rates. Non-participating whole life insurance policies offer fixed premiums, lifetime protection, and guaranteed values.

Non-Participating Insurance policies are generally fully guaranteed and do not produce a policy dividend.

In general, whole life insurance rates can vary significantly from one carrier to another. The following is pricing for $100,000 of a Non-Participating, 20-Pay Whole Life policy for a 65-year-old, male non-smoker. The policy is fully paid-up after 20 years. (Rates are accurate as of March 2012.)

Why a Traditional Book Valuation is Not Enough

The widely accepted and so-called "traditional" method of valuing a life insurance book of business favours buyers. Downplaying the value of a book has led not to a buyers market but to a market in which there are almost no sellers.

"Buyers favour traditional valuation because it allows them to apply a very arbitrary number that is often in their favor," says Cameron Jacox of the Jacox-Hilton Corporation. "What we often find when we do our analysis is that the future profit potential, which is very clearly quantifiable, generally leads to a larger valuation."

Jacox and Hilton completely gut the book in their analysis, looking at everything that's possible to analyze,like whether the advisor sold term life policies, how many were sold and where the trailers are going to be in five and ten years, and even what the likelihood is of conversion or re-write at specific points.