Be Better Prepared For the Unexpected

Term life insurance is affordable, easy-to-understand coverage that gives you flexible protection. It has no cash values.

Term life insurance works by providing you coverage for a pre-determined amount of time at fixed rates for the term. Once the term expires, you may renew your life insurance or convert to a permanent plan. Because of its flexibility and low cost, term life insurance remains the most popular life insurance plan in Canada.

When should you choose Term Life Insurance?

• You have a home with a fixed mortgage that you need to secure
• You have children, who need financial stability while they grow up
• You have debts that will be paid down over time
• When you need low-cost life insurance

Failing to plan for your funeral could leave your family members struggling to pay the cost themselves. A life insurance plan offers you and your family the assurance that funeral costs and other costs associated with the end of life can be paid for. By budgeting a little over time, you can secure these costs without relying on your savings.

A life insurance plan will provide a lump-sum, tax-free benefit which can be paid directly to your family.

When you want closer control over your life insurance in order to make it better fit your financial goals: Whole Life Insurance can provide unparalleled freedom to strike your own course when you buy financial protection.

With a cash value inherent in every plan, you are able to adjust your coverage month to month to either increase the face amount, or reduce the premium cost as you wish. There are two forms of whole life insurance: Participating and Non-Participating Whole Life.

Non-Participating Whole Life Insurance: Guaranteed minimum rates and cash value that you can borrow against whenever you need. Often this plan is more suitable when you want a simpler permanent option with cash values. Participating Whole Life Insurance: Allows you to invest into your life insurance to boost benefits, lower cost, or get higher cash value for your borrowing needs.

When should you consider Whole Life Insurance?

• You want insurance that you have control over
• You want to protect your family from estate taxes
• You expect your insurance needs to change over the years
• You want to build a retirement income to support yourself

Permanent life insurance refers to a set of life insurance policies that provide coverage for your entire life, so long as you pay premiums... So, whether you pass away immediately after having coverage or 30 years after, your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit.

This is a policy that remains in force for your entire life, with premiums fixed from the day you take out your policy. This combination of guaranteed protection and guaranteed benefits makes permanent life insurance a powerful tool - to give your family peace of mind that their needs will be taken care of.

Universal life insurance is a form of flexible permanent life coverage exposing the low-cost safety of term life insurance in addition to a savings detail (like entire life insurance), which is invested to offer a cash value build-up. The death benefit, financial savings factor and premiums can be reviewed and changed as a policyholder’s circumstances change. Unlike whole life insurance, universal life insurance allows the policyholder to use the interest from his accumulated savings to assist pay premiums over time.

This policy is also termed adjustable life insurance because it offers more flexibility. You have the options to reduce or increase your death benefit and to pay your premiums at any time and in any amount (subject to certain requirements) after your first premium payments have been made.

KEY FEATURES

• You need to cover estate taxes, so your family doesn’t suffer financially
• You are confident you can manage an investment portfolio
• You want another avenue to invest your money when your RRSP is maxed out
• You want to maximize your wealth for retirement

Critical illness insurance, unlike life insurance, is relatively a recent development. The availability of this type of insurance product came about due to the rising need for protection when the insured suffered a serious illness. The policy claim is paid to the insured and the proceeds are often used for seeking treatment and/or maintaining a comfortable lifestyle.

Almost everyone has a family member, a relative, a friend or a co-worker, who has suffered from a major, possibly fatal illness. It is a sad truth and an unavoidable series of events in people's lives. The reality is, when these life-threatening events do occur, it’s good to know that you have put the protection in place for yourself and your family.

Coverage is available in Term 10, 20 and Age 65, 75 and 100.

Many policies offer an option on the policies that have a level premium to age 65, 70 or 75. For an extra premium, if you do not have a claim, you will get all your premiums back at the policy ending age 65, 70 or 75, depending on the insurance company and policy purchased.

What illnesses may be covered?

• Cancer
• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Major Organ Failure
• Paralysis
• Many More...

Disability insurance coverage helps protect your most valuable asset – your ability to earn income – by providing you with an ongoing monthly income if you injured or sick that left you unable to work and earn a living.

Importance: Let’s suppose you didn’t have disability insurance, and a few sick days eventually turned into weeks, months or years off from work. How would you pay your bills? Would you dip into your savings? What happens when that’s gone, and your next mortgage payment is coming up. What do you do?

While it’s an unpleasant situation to think about, that’s exactly why you should consider including disability coverage in your financial plan.

Things to keep in mind

• Some policies will offer coverage if you’re unable to do only your job, while others will provide coverage if you’re unable to do any job
• Your coverage should be indexed to keep up with inflation, otherwise, your buying power will gradually decrease
• The amount of coverage you choose should be enough to cover all of you and your family’s needs for an extended time frame

Any disability protection you have through your employer will end if you change jobs, so owning your policy gives you greater flexibility – plus it can top up existing employer coverage.

As you know, Government Medicare does not cover many dental and vision care procedures, prescription drugs or extended health care costs. Families and individuals purchase supplementary or private health plans to cover the cost of having to pay a big unexpected expense or even the routine dental and vision care costs. Many find that it is easier to budget a monthly premium than plan for the annual dental and vision check-up costs and unexpected prescription or other medical costs. If you have a claim for covered medical or dental needs, it is paid for by the insurance company with a small deductible in most cases.

Supplementary health plans are not intended to just cover what your routine costs are, but it is to protect you against the larger unforeseen costs that can come up in the future. Since most of us do not know if or when we will need coverage for an unexpected problem, many individuals purchase supplementary health plans to move the risk of having to pay a big unexpected expense to the insurance company.

If you have any business income, we can show you how you can pay your premiums and deduct them from your income. This can result in significant savings depending on your source of income and amount of expenses.

Benefits Offered Through Most Insurance Companies

• Basic and Preventative Care
• Vision (Glasses/ Contacts and Eye Exams)
• Prescription Drugs
• Medical Equipment
• Health Professionals (Specialists and Therapists)
• Travel Insurance
• Private Hospital Rooms
• Ambulance Service

Visitor insurance helps to protect visitors from unexpected expenses like sudden illness or accident. This insurance plan also covers other medical emergencies while travelling to Canada. It is crucial to know that the Canadian healthcare system does not offer any free medical care for its tourists and visitors. Medical expenses in Canada are very high. Thus, without visitor insurance, paying for medical bills and other expenses can be very financially taxing. To avoid such a scenario, it is advisable to protect yourself or your loved ones by purchasing this insurance plan when travelling to Canada.

A visitor to Canada insurance is available for visiting family, relatives, friends, landed immigrants or returning Canadians waiting for provincial health coverage, and individuals in Canada on a work or student visa.

The Super Visa is a multi-entry visa that provides multiple entries for a period of up to 10 years. The key difference is that the Super Visa allows an individual to stay for up to two years at a time in Canada, while a 10-year multiple entry visa would only have a status period for each entry of six months only. This offers a long-term visitor status in Canada. Now, one of the criteria to obtain a Parent or Grandparent Super Visa is to have valid insurance. An applicant should provide proof stating that they have super visa insurance from a Canadian insurance company and is valid for a minimum of one year.

Things to remember at the time of getting the quote for super-visa insurance

• Medical insurance is one of the foremost requirements
• The coverage must be of $100,000 or more
• The minimum policy coverage period must be of 365 days
• The date of arrival for the visiting party the first day of their one-year medical insurance coverage
• It is the duty/responsibility of the insured to keep the insurance company abreast of any changes in arrival date
• If the visiting party make their mind to leave Canada before the expiry of the policy, they can do so and would be entitled to get a refund of the sum which has not been used
• Any pre-existing medical conditions may be eligible for a medical insurance coverage provided the ailment or condition is stable and controlled.
• In case the visiting party wish to extend their stay in Canada, they can do so for a maximum of another 12 months.

Get help covering unexpected medical expenses when you travel.

Most travel insurance plans cover medical emergencies, trip cancellation, trip interruption, delays, medical evacuation, and lost, damaged, or stolen luggage.

If you plan to travel outside Canada, even for a day in the United States or anywhere in the world, you should buy travel health insurance before you leave the country to avoid the heavy cost of medical expenses if get sick out of Canada.

Canadians are travelling overseas in ever-increasing numbers. Whatever your age or destination, appropriately preparing before you leave and staying in good health while travelling can help you to have a happy and enjoyable trip. When you travel abroad, you leave behind Canada’s support systems, emergency service capabilities and medical facilities.

We live longer and remain in good health; we ironically run the risk of outliving our savings. Running out of savings to support your retirement can put your wellbeing and security in jeopardy, and runs contrary to a comfortable retirement.

Annuities are among one of many financial tools that Canadians are taking advantage of to ensure their savings can be budgeted properly throughout their retirement. With the right annuity plan, you can maximize your retirement funds and protect your lifestyle at any age.

We offer annuities with the following benefits:

• Choice of term annuities and life annuities, to spread out your savings how you need it
• Guarantee periods, so your monthly benefit can go to your family should you pass away
• Choice of single or joint annuities for you and a spouse
• Supplement your annuity with registered RRSP funds or non-registered savings

Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) helps you save for your children’s post-secondary education. It has tax-free growth, offers flexibility and helps you plan and save many years in advance, so you are not weighed down with the expenses at the time. Canadian Residents with a social insurance number (SIN) who wish to set up the fund for any beneficiary including children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren or any dependent child should consider RESP.

Tax-Free Growth

RESPs offer tax deferral. This means that interest income and investment growth earned within an RESP are not taxed as long as the funds remain in the plan. Withdrawals from an RESP are taxed in the hands of the student, which usually means they pay little or no tax.

The Canada Education Saving Grant

With the CESG, for an eligible beneficiary under the age of 18, the government matches 20% on the first $2,500 contributed annually to an RESP. The maximum total CESG the government will give, up to age 18, is $7,200 per beneficiary. The grant proceeds are invested along with your contributions, further enhancing the benefits of tax-deferred and compound investment growth within your plan.

Canada Learning Bond

A $500 CLB is provided for children of families who are entitled to the National Child Benefit Supplement and who are born after December 31, 2003. These children also qualify for CLB instalments of $100 per year until age 15, if they continue to receive the National Child Benefit Supplement. The total maximum CLB payable per child is $2,000. CLBs are allocated to a specific child; unlike CESGs, they cannot be shared with other beneficiaries. There is no requirement to make contributions to qualify for the CLB.

Registered Retirement Saving Plan, RRSP is a tax-sheltered, personal investment plan registered with the Canadian Federal government to help you secure your future after you retire. The contributions made in the RRSP reduce your tax payable. You must remember that any withdrawal from RRSP will be included in your income and tax must be paid on it.

Any Canadian below 72 years of age is eligible to save under the RRSP plan, whether you are employed or self-employed or have a company pension plan. RRSP also helps you reduce your tax burden if you are married and one spouse earns less than the other.

Benefits

You can use your RRSP funds to finance your first home or education needs. In financial emergencies such as employment termination, career change or maternity leave, RRSP eases out your burdens. There are some exceptions to the rules for income inclusion under first home buyers or their education funding.

RRSP includes a variety of investments:

• Guaranteed investment certificates (GICs)
• Equities
• Mutual funds
• Segregated Funds
• Bonds
• Savings deposits
• Treasury bills

The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) program began in 2009. It is a way for individuals who are 18 and older to set money aside tax-free throughout their lifetime. Contributions to a TFSA are not deductible for income tax purposes. Any amount contributed as well as any income earned in the account is generally tax-free, even when it is withdrawn. Administrative or other fees with TFSA and any interest or money borrowed to contribute to a TFSA are not deductible.

TFSA is highly recommended because of several benefits:

• Flexible withdrawals
• Tax-free investment
• No income required
• No limit to the lifetime contribution
• No credit or impact on Federal Benefits
• Eligible for life
• Indefinite carry-forwards
• Perfect choice for quick investment growth

The annual TFSA dollar limit for the year 2019 is $6,000. The TFSA annual room limit will be indexed to inflation and rounded to the nearest $500. Investment income earned by and changes in the value of TFSA investments will not affect your TFSA contribution room for the current or future years.

Supplemental Health - Help fill financial gaps that may exist in major medical coverage

Your Financial Responsibilities Shouldn’t Burden Your Family When You’re Gone Family Life Protector is whole life insurance that provides benefits to help your loved ones continue without you, depending on the plan you select. And with the optional Accidental Death Benefit, your beneficiary can receive more benefits.

Accident Insurance - Pays cash benefits when you are injured and require medical care

Cash When You Need It A slip, fall, or some other accident can happen anytime. And it can be costly. If you or a family member is injured in an accident, Accident Protector provides cash benefits you can use to help cover medical and non-medical expenses that arise.