Insurance/Risk Management

We offer a range of risk management and insurance solutions:

  • Universal, term and whole life Insurance
  • Disability income protection
  • Critical illness Insurance
  • Long-term care Insurance
  • Life and insured annuities
  • Group benefit plans

Life Insurance 101

All life insurance plans start with the same basic precept. The policyholder pays a premium in exchange for a tax-free lump sum benefit that’s payable to their selected beneficiaries upon their death. Along with the tax-free death benefit, the tax treatment of Canadian exempt life insurance policies includes tax-deferred accumulation. When there is a disposition of the life insurance policy (for instance on withdrawal, surrender, or policy loan) or when a dividend is paid to the policyholder, taxation may apply. Because life insurance enjoys favourable tax treatment, it’s a valuable financial instrument.

Whole Life Insurance

For permanent, evolving and increasing insurance needs.

  • Premium Payments: Higher
  • Plan: Level guaranteed premiums and death benefit.
  • Premium Options Include: Level for life, quick pay options (level for 10, 15 or 20 years, then the policy becomes paid up), dividends (or bonuses), policy cash values can also be used to offset premiums.

Main Draw:

  • Includes annually increasing guaranteed cash surrender values.
  • Annual dividends (or bonuses) provide value for consumers that are tax efficient, for accumulating and growing the value of the policy including the Death Benefit and the Total Cash Surrender value.
  • Cash surrender values allow for policy loans, automatic premium loans if a premium is missed, third party borrowing (using the policy as collateral) and cash surrenders when a portion or all of the insurance is cancelled.

Drawbacks:

  • The highest initial premium of all plans
  • No investment option flexibility like with Universal Life
  • Less overall flexibility

Term Insurance

For short-term, temporary needs.

  • Premium Payments: Lower for shorter term/Higher for longer term
  • Initial terms of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or 35 years, and custom terms.
  • Term plans that automatically renew for the same term period at each renewal
  • Term plans that automatically renew for 1-year term periods after the initial term
  • Premiums are level during the initial selected term.
  • Premiums increase at each renewal.
  • The longer the term, the higher the premium for the term (this applies to initial and renewal terms).

Main Draw:

  • Low initial costs on shorter terms

Drawbacks:

  • Typically, life insurance needs evolve and outlast the initial term.
  • For plans that renew for the same term at every renewal, premiums increase dramatically at each renewal.
  • For plans that renew annually after the initial term, even the 1-year term costs, though increasing gradually, eventually become very expensive.
  • Most Term insurance plans expire before life expectancy, at age 75 or 85.