Insurance Makes No Sense: Lorne quoted in November 2007 Money Sense Magazine

Money Sense Magazine

Every time you turn on the news you hear about people dying in accidents. So it's no wonder that many of us buy accidental death insurance, either as a stand-alone policy, or as a rider on an existing policy. The insurance is designed to provide for your family should you be killed in a mishap, such as a car crash or fall.

"There's only one problem with accidental death insurance," says Lorne Marr, president of LSM Insurance in Markham, Ont. "It doesn't make any sense."

Accidental deaths are rare, accounting for only about 5% of mortality. But accidental death insurance often costs more than a term life policy that would cover you no matter how you die.

Aside from the coverage offering poor value, says Marr, an independent insurance broker with 14 years of experience, "The biggest reason I wouldn't buy it is because my family doesn't need more money just because I happen to die in an accident. In fact, your family's costs would likely be higher if you were to die from cancer or some other disease, which is a much more common cause of death than accidents."

Anne Kleffner, associate professor of risk management and insurance at the University of Calgary, agrees that accidental death insurance makes no sense."If you've bought the right amount of life insurance to begin with, it seems a bit silly to then spend more money for coverage you can only use if there's an accidental death."

So what should you do if you get an offer from your bank or insurance company for accidental death insurance? If you don't think you have enough coverage, "you should just buy more term insurance instead," says Kleffner. "It's pretty clear that the accidental death coverage is not worthwhile."

Money Sense Magazine

A healthy workplace pays returns - Insurance Journal article featuring Lorne Marr

When Professor Michael Leiter predicts a 10% return, he mean yield from a different investment than normally discussed by financial advisors, and when he mentions 'resources', he does not mean commodity investment or the mutual fund category. What he is referring to is the direct connection between a healthy workplace and efficient and motivated employees.

Prof. Leiter says his research demonstrates connections between an individual's professional efficiency and work style. "The percentage relationship we've seen between healthy behaviours and experiencing exhausting is quite strong," he says, estimating that a healthy workplace increases an individual's efficiency by up to 10%.

As organizational psychologist, co-author of Banishing Burnout and director of Acadia University's Centre for Organizational Research and Development, Prof. Leiter studies workplace stress and relationships between individuals and work environments.

Healthy work styles replenish physical and mental resources depleted by pressures inherent in financial planning. "There is a cost in all of that," he says. It depletes your resources so the first piece is do you have the capacity to replenish those resources?" ho to The Insurance Journal.

He numbers exercise and health programs at work as important strategies for avoiding burnout. Spontaenous group activities are very helpful. "Particularly given that you often work with others with the same challenges - make it into a cooperative effort. Play basketball...even pickup basketball to work off tension."

Lorne Marr, a fitness buff since age 16 and his colleagues at the Lorne S. Marr Insurance Services Ltd. Agency in Markham may not play basketball together but find walking together pays dividends. "The daily walks have allowed us to come up with some really good idea," says Mr. Marr. In one example, they discussed a new critical illness insurance sales letter used to renew contact with inactive prospects.

One of the advisors at the agency has lost between 15 and 20 pounds since resuming his gym workouts, he adds. On the food side, Mr. Marr's office includes a toaster oven, designed to provide an alternative to grabbing fast food for lunch. An assistant has become more productive since the change. "She wasn't into eating healthy at all," he recalls. "She was a little more on the McDonald's front..."

One of Mr. Marr's favourite energy boosters is a shake containing protein powder, bananas, organic skim milk, sometimes with berries added.

These measures set the tone for his agency's office environment and its success, he believes. "You have more energy. You have more enthusiasm. You are likely to do a lot more business." says Mr. Marr, who works out three or four times weekly.

Mr. Marr believes that healthy vibrations lead to positive attitudes, in turn leading to increased sales. "People are going to want to buy from people that have energy and are very upbeat about what they're doing."

Al Emid

Taken from the insurance journal, August 2007.