Living Benefits

Why isn’t CI selling?

For 10 years, critical illness (CI) insurance has promised Canadians money if they’re stricken with a life-threatening medical problem such as cancer. At first, sales were brisk, but in the last five years the CI space has basically come to a standstill. Starting in 2005, sales have continually dropped, with the industry seeing a -5% […]

By Bryan Borzykowski |May 9, 2008

5 min read

Living Benefits

Premium Advice — Opening up the CI space

At the recent World Critical Illness Conference and the Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting, Munich Reinsurance made a long-awaited announcement that benchmark definitions have arrived in Canada. Why did they do this, and why is it important to advisors? Although it’s a voluntary measure that each manufacturer must adopt, it addresses what many advisors have […]

By Chris Paterson |May 7, 2008

5 min read

Living Benefits

Premium Advice — There’s still life after a decline

Very few roadblocks can be as frustrating in our business as a decline. After spending hours of your time developing a relationship, preparing recommendations, and explaining the benefits of purchasing coverage to a client, some unforeseen problem limits the underwriter’s ability to make an offer, and they are not able to provide coverage. How do […]

By Chris Paterson |April 2, 2008

4 min read

Living Benefits

Premium Advice — There’s still life after a decline

(April 2008) Very few roadblocks can be as frustrating in our business as a decline. After spending hours of your time developing a relationship, preparing recommendations, and explaining the benefits of purchasing coverage to a client, some unforeseen problem limits the underwriter’s ability to make an offer, and they aren’t able to provide coverage. How […]

By Staff |April 1, 2008

4 min read

Premium Advice — Help your client avoid an insurance denial

Age 90 7.015% Same couple, but with a 200% rating (fairly high for a joint policy) Age 80 10.136% Age 85 4.976% Age 90 2.341% So even if the second spouse lived to age 85, he or she still would have needed 7% to 9% pre-tax to have generated the same return on the couple’s […]

3 min read

Premium Advice — Protect registered assets by cross-recommending insurance solutions

Age 90 net estate value $146,738 (after $106,172 of taxes paid) Age 80 net estate value $212,496 (after $166,024 of taxes paid) 6% growth rate $400,000 RRIF paid out at legislated minimum 40% marginal tax rate Age 65, non-smokers There are two sides to every story, and that includes RRSPs. On one hand, they help […]

4 min read

Premium Advice — Turning compound tax into compound coverage

One of the most common client concerns is how to find money to fund advisors’ insurance recommendations. In previous columns, I examined two strategies to help clients in the medium- to high-net-worth market overcome this anxiety. In this column, I’ll explore how we can use guaranteed or fixed interest income to create tax strategies to […]

4 min read

Premium Advice — Using cash value plans instead of living benefits

(December 2007) The tax-sheltered growth of your client’s hard-earned dollars has long been one of the key benefits of permanent insurance products. The ability to offer similar investment vehicles to other open investments in a “self-directed” type plan (universal life) or a professionally managed balanced portfolio with low volatility (whole life) is an approach that […]

4 min read

Premium Advice — Funding retirement with insurance products

(October 2007) With low interest rates come difficult decisions, especially for people whose money is in GICs or bonds. In order to make it through retirement with these investment products clients will either have to get aggressive with their investments or dramatically change their lifestyle. But two relatively simple products — term-to-100-based life contracts and […]

3 min read

Insurers fight to keep retiring group assets

(September 2007) The country’s largest insurers are making a concerted effort to bring together their distribution networks for group and individual retirement products before the baby boomers exit the workforce. Upon retirement, millions of boomers will leave behind their employee benefit plans. And their group plan providers hope they will simply “rollover” into another distribution […]

By Mark Noble |September 18, 2007

5 min read