Life Insurance and Living Benefits

Y ou bought your home from an agent you trust, you qualified for the Mortgage because of good credit, you shopped for a great mortgage rate to save money, and when it came to the mortgage insurance, you simply signed on the dotted line without asking “Is this a good deal?”. Most people want to get life insurance when they buy a home, but are often too excited about the new house that they forget to ask any questions about the insurance. How many times have I heard, “I didn’t want to blow the deal, so I just signed”, or “the banker just told me to sign the document, so I did”. It’s not too late to look around, and yes , you can cancel the bank insurance if you want . Mortgage insurance at the bank is often very expensive for what you get. Here are 7 things about Bank Insurance you should know: 1. Money: Bank insurance is often very expensive when compared to a private policy. 2. Coverage: Bank insurance is tied to the mortgage, so if you pay off or reduce your mor...

There are no secrets to success, besides hard work. Nevertheless, one thing I have found to be fruitful and comes close to being a “secret to success” is this… “Do something every day that has the potential to earn $1,000.” Our lives and work keep us so busy that we sometimes don’t do the things we know make us successful. We talk on the phone too much, we spend too much time on the internet, we respond to emails as if a response is needed in 30 seconds or our computer will explode and we often spend too much time at the water cooler. In addition, we let the business run us, rather than us running the business.   So, if we were to change one thing that would make a long term impact towards our success; what would it be? At the end of the day, we need to take an inventory of what we have actually accomplished. Did we do all the right things? Did our “to do” list actually get smaller? Did all the important things get done? Did you do something that had the potential to ...

Every industry has its own jargon and acronyms which confuse the average person. The Life Insurance business is no less guilty when it comes to special terms and phrases. The intent of this blog is to provide some answers to some of the most commonly misunderstood insurance terms. Every policy, and every company has its own contractual definitions and you should check with your carrier for accurate meanings. The following definitions are being defined for general understanding: Death Benefit : The sum of money that will be paid at the death of a life insured. Beneficiary :  The person(s), company, or estate that the death benefit will be paid to; following the death of the life insured. Waiver of Premium : This is where the premiums for the insurance policy are paid by the insurance company if the life insured or the policy owner is disabled or dies. Guaranteed Insurance Benefit : This benefit is a contractual provision which allows the life insured to ...

For the past 10 years in Canada, we have all heard about Critical Illness Insurance ; yet the average person does not understand how Critical Illness Insurance works. We know that life insurance pays if you die, and that disability insurance pays if you become disabled; but what about the in between stage where you are diagnosed but you aren’t sick enough to be disabled, and you don’t die either? The financial cost of being sick is staggering . Drug coverage by group plans and by the government is limited and living in Canada has now become known as winning the postal code lottery. We all know someone (maybe even in your own family) that has had a heart attack, stroke or cancer.  Having a critical illness can change your life forever. Finances may never recover, and having a critical illness is often the root of marital breakdown.  Even for young adults, a sickness may ruin your finances, and moving home with your parents when you are sick is often not in the card...

Sometimes the need for insurance coverage reaches far beyond the need for insurance which arises when you want to cover the payment of a bank loan, or a mortgage. In some cases, the need for insurance is permanent. In other words, your need for coverage will last your entire life.   As such, an insurance solution would involve a “permanent” insurance product where the premium is affordable over a long period of time. Permanent needs are often considered to be things like: ·          Funds to pay income tax, which are triggered at death. ·          To pay the capital gain on a family cottage at death. ·          Sometimes cash is needed at death to even the distribution of asset payments to the family where otherwise selling property or a business might decrease its value. ·          A permanent policy may help ...

In 1985, I sold computers for a living. The Compaq portable was a featherweight at 28 pounds.  The industry has grown up so much in the past 30 years. What surprises me is that with all the technology around us, many people don’t take full advantage of ways to improve how their office functions. In this blog, we focus on 7 ways to make your office more efficient with a little technology: Voice mail to email Electronic files/scanning CRM software Remote access to computer Online client survey Online visibility Electronic presentations Everyone has voice mail on the office phone.  However, there is a relatively new technology called Voice mail to email that has come out and it is very useful. Imagine you are away from the office (even on the golf course), and you miss a phone message from a client you were not expecting to hear from. A moment later, you are alerted by your iPhone that you have a new email. When you look at the screen, you see that it ...

So you are educated, degree in hand and your cap is flying through the air as classmates smile for the camera and high fives are the order for the day. Some of you have jobs lined up; some still have a few interviews to go. What is in common with most is the unsure “next steps” in your new personal financial   world. You are flying the coop, and need to sort a few things out. So here is a list of   things you will want to consider as you begin to grow financially. 1. Make a budget and watch it . “You can't manage what you don't measure” is an old management adage that you need to turn into a habit. Unless you measure something, you don't know if it is getting better or worse. This sounds like basic advice, however when it comes to money, it’s a foundation. As you grow, the edges of your budget will want to be elastic, so you need not carve it in stone; however, be aware of where your money is going. Note you will modify and increase your budget with expansion of in...