You already know the benefits of term insurance, one of them being its lower cost when it comes to covering a larger temporary need. Term insurance helps your client to maintain their same standard of living by providing income replacement, and even paying off existing debt. So far, pretty impressive.

However, if you have a client with term insurance, it is important to reach out and review their needs on a regular basis. In fact, you will want to contact your client long before the term insurance is available for renewal – giving you and your client adequate time to evaluate their needs and review all of their insurance options.

Below, are a few of the things that you will want to consider when your client’s term insurance comes up for renewal. Continue reading “Term Insurance – What Your Client Should Consider For Renewal” →

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Things to Consider When Renewing Your Term Insurance Plan

Designating a beneficiary for a life insurance policy just got more complicated with the recent Calmusky v. Calmusky Ontario Superior Court case, overruling a beneficiary designation and ruling a RRIF as part of a deceased’s estate. As a result of this decision, there is a concern that beneficiary designations in favour of adult children in life insurance policies can now be challenged. This could be applicable in all common-law provinces, which excludes Quebec.

Now more than ever, it is crucial to have a detailed conversation with your client about their designations and ensure their intentions are documented both clearly and thoroughly in order to avoid their assets falling into litigation and/or estate. Continue reading “The Beneficiary Challenge” →

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Beneficiary Designations – Making Sure Your Money Goes Where You Want

Will and estate planning can be a complicated, but important process for your client. They have the vision, but as an Advisor, you can recommend the solutions that will transform your clients’ dreams into a reality.

Share this video to illustrate how will and estate planning can benefit your client, their family and their business. Continue reading “SMART TALK… about will planning and drafting” →

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SMART TALK…about will planning and drafting

Your client has worked hard all of their life. They’ve accumulated some assets, perhaps even more than they will need for a secure and comfortable retirement. However, the ownership of some of these assets will result in a tax liability upon your client’s or their spouse’s death. As an Advisor, you have both the knowhow and the tools to not only assess your client’s assets, but also guide them in protecting their estate and ensuring that their hard-earned dollars go directly to their loved ones. Continue reading “Estate Protection for your Client” →

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Protecting Your Estate

Clients with one or more of the following conditions will face challenges when applying for traditional insurance. Their coverage may be rated, postponed or declined altogether:

• Change in prescription medication
• Depression and/or anxiety
• Diabetes
• Heart condition
• Family history of illness
• Pending tests
• Heavy marijuana use or recreational drug use
• DUIs, including subpar driving history
• Previous cancer diagnosis
• Previously declined/postponed for insurance

There are simple steps you can take to help your client. First, you can check out PPI’s online resource Know the Risk, or KTR (login required) to understand how these conditions may be underwritten. The KTR Ratings Guide has dozens of conditions, which launch tables showing related insurability for life and critical illness insurance including DI guides for select impairments. Your client may have more options that you think! Continue reading “When Health Conditions Make Insurance Hard to Come By” →

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You Have More Insurance Options Than You Think

Continue reading “Protecting Your Client’s Digital Assets” →

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Protecting Your Digital Assets

Many of your clients run their own businesses, but likely many of them are overwhelmed with the many different tax concepts involved, and how they can structure their business most effectively. An important concept for them to master in order to understand how to structure shareholders agreements and the value of corporate-owned insurance is the CDA or Capital Dividend Account. Continue reading “Turn Your Clients into CDA Wizards” →

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What’s in Your Capital Dividend Account?

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is granted certain powers under the Income Tax Act (known as the “Act”) to satisfy an individual’s tax debts out of property that he or she transferred to a non-arm’s length person, such as a spouse, child or sibling. Where these rules apply, the recipient of the property is jointly and severally liable with the deceased for the tax debts (to a maximum of the fair market value of the transferred property). Continue reading “Can the CRA Seize Your Client’s Life Insurance Proceeds to Satisfy Tax Debt?” →

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Can the CRA Seize Life Insurance Proceeds to Satisfy Tax Debts?

As an Advisor, you know that recommending an insurance type and amount without needs-based planning is like a dentist performing a root canal without even looking inside their patient’s mouth – ouch!

We’ve discussed this type of planning in previous articles as a way to determine your client’s needs and risks in order to provide them with the right insurance – insurance that is tailored purposefully to fit their life. In this article, we would like to elaborate on the topic of needs-based planning by providing you with some assessment tips that will not only demonstrate your insurance expertise and reinforce your brand, but will continue to strengthen your client/advisor relationship. Let’s start by looking at the benefits of needs-based planning for you and your client. Continue reading “Tailoring the Perfect Fit for Your Clients” →

Over the last decade, insurance solutions have evolved, not only in product development but also in the lens from which we view insurance. In its most basic form, insurance addresses your client’s financial risk and works to develop a secure and unhindered path forward.

However, before insurance can do its job, it is your job to sit down with your client and ask some important questions – a needs-based assessment will help you determine what your client would face in the event of illness, disability or even premature death. This assessment or “analysis” will also help to establish your client’s estate goals and allow you, as their trusted advisor, to find better solutions based on your client’s unique set of circumstances. Continue reading “The Need for Needs-Based Planning” →

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Needs Based Planning: It’s All About You!