Travel Insurance? Don’t leave home without it!
Estimated reading time: 40 seconds
I received an urgent call from a good client with a big problem.
His 80 year old mother became ill while travelling and was admitted to a local hospital with symptoms of a stroke.
Guaranteed Issue CI is now available 24/7
Estimated reading time: 45 seconds
I am delighted to announce a new online program we just launched with Manulife Financial to help every Canadian get affordable Critical Illness Insurance protection on a guaranteed basis without a medical.
Most people buy life insurance to protect their family but never consider the possibility of what happens if they get sick.
You are what you read
It’s been said that twenty years from now, in a reflective moment of self-evaluation, it will occur to you that the biggest impact on your own personal growth and development resulted primarily from 2 things: the people you met and the books you read.
I make it a point to ask successful clients, mentors and other people I admire what books made an impact in their lives - and along the way some wonderful gems have reached the summit of my bookshelf.
When people ask me to recommend a good self-help book, I tell them about a great one that was originally recommended to me by a special mentor: "How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling".
Why I’m not an astronaut
Reading time: 90 seconds
People often ask me why I chose this profession. Truth is, it really chose me.
A short radio ad recorded with my client and friend Gord Stellick tells the story best. Listen here.
Long Term Care - Short Term Broke
There is a 50% probability that you will need some form of long term care (home care or facility care) in your lifetime.
A recent poll by Leger Marketing on behalf of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA), reported that 74 per cent of Canadians have no financial plan to pay for long-term care.
CLHIA estimates a cost of almost $1.2 trillion ($1,200,000,000,000) to provide long-term care to the baby boomer generation as they pass through old age (those baby boomers started turning 65 last year!)
A Tale of Two Sisters - Powers of Attorney
Despite the fact that everyone knows the importance of having a current and up-to-date will and powers of attorney most people don’t think about their wills until the day before leaving on vacation. A recent survey of 544,000 Canadians with assets exceeding $1.5 Million reported that only 40% have a will and 80% of those wills are not up to date. Where do you fit?
In addition to the will, everyone needs to complete two (not just one) Powers of Attorney:
- Continuing Power of Attorney for Property - You name someone to make financial decisions for you, such as paying your bills, managing your investments, etc.
- Continuing Power of Attorney for Personal Care - You name someone to make personal care and health decisions such as where you live, what you eat or what medical care you will receive if you get sick or injured
RSPs Need Protection Too!
RSP season must be a delight for the people selling advertising. The ads pitching RSPs are everywhere, online and offline.
We are taught from an early age to save for retirement with annual (or more frequent) RSP contributions, but few people consider the tax consequences of simply getting their own money back. Hint: they have to pay income tax on all the withdrawals at their marginal tax rate. At death, providing there is no spousal roll-over, all contributions are taxed. That means $1M of RSP/RIF income would be subject to $460,000 of tax.
Aside from these ultimate tax liabilities, protecting retirement goals can be very difficult if certain life events occur. For example, what would happen if somebody suffers a heart attack or stroke or gets diagnosed with cancer?
W. Brett Wilson - the Dragon spoke!
Brett Wilson was the keynote speaker at a luncheon I recently attended in downtown Toronto. The event was hosted by Canoe Financial of which he is a principal. Do you remember Brett from Dragon’s Den? He was the mensch. (His personal website is refreshingly different and really interesting)
He shared his personal story and it turns out he is genuinely a self-made nice guy.
Brett’s advice to university students (and in all likelihood to us mature people J) resonated with me on 3 key messages:
Jack's Story - Part 2
Happy and HEALTHY 2013
Here’s an update to Jack’s Story, a post from November 19th .
Jack’s three children don’t get along at all. They live in different cities in the U.S. and Europe, with nothing in common but DNA. They are the very model of a dysfunctional family, unable to agree on anything, including the time of day.
Critical Illness Insurance....still a well-kept secret
“The cost of cancer can be devastating to Canadians, because the medications they often need to take at home can wipe out their life savings, said the Canadian Cancer Society.
I agree with them completely – Canadians desperately need that coverage asap.
Insurance for the UNinsurable
It’s no secret: the people who need insurance the most usually can’t get it.
There are many reasons for insurance underwriters to just say no: the applicant is too old, too short for their weight, has a poor personal or family health history, a criminal background, exotic travel, a passion for dangerous sports, etc.
It isn’t discrimination, just sensible business practice for the insurance companies who would obviously prefer to insure very healthy people in excellent shape with perfect genes who are least likely to get sick. They get to choose their risks, knowing they will lose money if they pay out too many claims.
What a coincidence...ANNUITIES are suddenly a hot topic!
As a member of the Estate Planning Council of Toronto I have the pleasure of sharing ideas and best practices with professional colleagues at our monthly meetings downtown. My personal highlight of the meeting last week was a presentation by Paul Goldstein, a living legend in the Canadian insurance industry.
Paul is a Holocaust survivor with a distinguished 46 year (forty six!) career, decorated frequently with numerous awards and recognition from insurance companies and peers: he is an innovator, educator and top producer. For more than 30 years Paul has consistently qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table's Top of the Table, a select group of less than 1% of all insurance advisors worldwide.
On a personal note…my own accolades… Paul has been my close friend, inspiration and personal mentor for several years. I often discuss the importance of mentors with advisors at my presentations and look forward to sharing with you the story how I pursued Paul and how we first met in a future blog post.
Lost and FOUND - Jack’s Story
Back in the early 1990s, when I was just getting started in my career, Jack was already a retired entrepreneur and senior citizen.
We met through a mutual acquaintance (my late mother of blessed memory), and soon became friends. Jack was an active widower with grown up children and grandchildren who didn’t live in Toronto.
I remember accompanying him to his bank branch where he introduced me to the bank manager. They added me to the approved list for access to his safety deposit in case something happened.
ROP RIP?
It’s no secret that I love Critical Illness Insurance (CI), and it continues to amaze me that most insurance advisors in Canada have NEVER sold a policy! In my professional opinion, any insurance advisor who isn’t telling clients about CI is negligent.
When illness strikes, having CI often means the difference between losing a mortgage and losing the family home. It happens all the time.
The statistics are scary - you’ve probably seen them - 1 out of 3 Canadians will get cancer (and that’s just one of about two dozen covered conditions)
Huge Changes
The life insurance industry in Canada is undergoing huge changes while attracting little mainstream news coverage.
RBC Insurance recently cancelled their distribution contracts with most of their Managing General Agencies (MGAs). They went from 83 MGAs to just 14.