Why Are Whole Life Sales Gaining Momentum in Canada?

Whole life insurance sales have been gathering considerable momentum in this country.

According to the latest LIMRA statistics, in 2011 universal life insurance sales were up by 1.2 per cent. By comparison, whole life insurance sales increased 17.5 per cent.

"Markets have been fairly volatile and not providing a great return," says Karl Simon, director of product and marketing for Equitable Life. "I believe advisors are going over to whole life insurance because what it does is it provides a good return without the volatility."

Whole Life insurance, as the name implies, provides insurance for the insured’s lifetime. The premiums are also level, and the plan provides guaranteed cash values.

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.)

Life Insurance for Police Officers

According to the Canadian Government, Police officers number 110,694 across Canada. To put that in perspective, that's 110,694 police all putting their lives on the line every day to keep us safe, but what will keep their families safe when they are gone?

Of course, they probably get group benefits through their union, but an individualized plan can be customized to better suit their needs and most likely give them more coverage than they would get for the same ailment from their group plan.

Life insurance can be broken down into two categories, Term Insurance and Permanent Insurance.

Cash Back Life Insurance

Life insurance policies in Canada are primarily divided into two categories, Term Life Insurance and Permanent Life Insurance.

Term Life insurance policies have level premiums for a stated term, i.e. 10, 20, or 30 years. In most instances, Term Life insurance policies do not build a cash value.

Permanent Life insurance policies are sub-divided into three categories, Term 100, Universal Life insurance, and Whole Life insurance.

Some Term 100 life insurance policies do provide a cash value component, but most do not.

Whole Life insurance policies have a built-in cash value. In the case of Participating Whole Life policies, the cash value includes a guaranteed cash value and a dividend cash value. The dividend cash value is dependent on the performance of the insurance company itself.