SMART INSURE PLANNING

Term Life Insurance, known as Temporary Life Insurance, covers a specific need for a certain period of time. A term life insurance policy may be low cost and may be renewable; however, coverage will expire at the end of the life insurance term policy contract. There are no cash values available with a term coverage policy contract.

Term life coverage is available with convertible provisions to a permanent life insurance policy; this is more preferable and recommended for the insured. Term insurance is available to almost anyone, but at what price? If you are healthy and insurable, you can typically buy cheap term insurance. If you are not, you may be faced with paying the renewal premium and visiting your doctor to ask why.

Insurance premium rates will increase upon each renewal term and often become cost prohibitive. Upon each anniversary renewal, the risk of claiming on the insurance coverage becomes greater, yet many people cancel or lapse due to the increasing cost of term insurance policy.

It is also important to note and be aware; a policy may require that you present evidence of insurability upon renewal to qualify for possibly lower renewal rates. Know and understand your policy renewal provisions.

Term Life Insurance is ideal for a specific need such as Mortgage Life Insurance, covering a bank loan or liability,
Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

Term 100 Insurance is permanent coverage that covers you for your lifetime. Your premium is based on your age at issue; premiums remain level for the whole term. Term 100 life insurance coverage does not expire and will stay in force as long as the premiums are paid. Term 100 Insurance typically does not accumulate cash values; however, some may have a cash surrender value (CSV) at a particular policy renewal date.

Refer to your Term 100 policy contract for details before considering cancellation or redemption.

Note: Many insurance companies no longer offer Term 100 Insurance.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

Limited Permanent Life Insurance is a policy contract that builds cash values and becomes a long term savings plan.

To select a Limited Permanent Life Insurance plan, you must be committed to higher premium payments for a set period of time. Budgeting for the Limited Permanent Life Insurance policy while you are working, allows you to budget for lifetime protection while building cash values in your policy.

Since the limited permanent life insurance premiums are paid over a specific time period, the insurance premium payments will be higher than the ordinary whole life plan. This allows you to free up cash flow in retirement.

Obtain enhanced financial protection with guaranteed cash surrender values with guaranteed premiums.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

Universal life (UL) insurance combines permanent life insurance coverage with investment options.

Universal Life insurance plans offer an investor flexibility to choose whether insurance premiums will be level or increase yearly; whether the death benefit will remain level or increase; and whether or not an investor would like to contribute additional premiums to utilize the many investment options in the plan. If an investor utilizes the investment component of the policy, there are options available to access or use the accumulated cash value.

Universal Life Insurance can adapt to changing needs during a lifetime. Obtain life insurance coverage and accumulate additional tax-sheltered funds.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

If a policy is ‘participating’, the policyholder is eligible to participate in the surplus of the insurance company through dividends. The amount of the dividends is not guaranteed. It is calculated annually and is based on several factors including interest rates, mortality, expenses and taxes.

In a low interest rate environment where guarantees are scare, a ‘participating’ policy provides stable investment options while offering tax-sheltered growth.

Also known as Ordinary or Permanent life insurance, the policy remains in effect while premiums are paid or the policy becomes paid up.

Whole Life policies provide a death benefit and an accumulating cash value. By definition, it has a fixed premium and a level death benefit to age 100. Whole life is generally among the most expensive types of life insurance, initially. The premiums remain level and don’t increase with age; this averages the cost of the policy over your lifetime. The policy cash value increases over time.

A cash surrender value is guaranteed providing you the ability to borrow against the cash value of your policy. You can select the plan and features that best meet your insurance and savings goals.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

Whole Life policies provide a death benefit and an accumulating cash value. By definition, it has a fixed premium and a level death benefit to age 100. Whole life is generally one of the most expensive types of life insurance. The premiums don’t increase with age, which averages the cost of the policy over your life. The cash value increases with time until it equals the death benefit at age 100.

Whole life is also known as Ordinary (or Permanent) life insurance. This type of policy never has to be renewed or converted. A cash surrender value is the amount of money that you are often guaranteed to receive in the event of canceling your policy. You also have the ability to borrow against the cash value of your policy.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance offers coverage with no medical tests and little or no health questions. This type of coverage generally has a limited death benefit and often restricts payout in the first two years of the policy. If the insured dies by non-accidental means in the first two policy years, the death benefit is generally limited to a return of the premiums paid plus interest. This coverage is usually very expensive and may or may not accumulate cash values.

Simple Issue Life Insurance has no medical tests and three to twelve health questions. If all the health questions are answered “no”, the coverage is approved and issued. Some simple issue policies also restrict payout in the first two policy years.

Guaranteed or simple issue life insurance policies are ideal for clients that don’t want the bother of any medical tests or health questions, or may have health issues that would exclude them from traditional underwritten-type policies.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance pays a death benefit if the insured dies in an accident. Also, a specified amount would also be paid to the insured or the beneficiaries if the insured loses his or her eyesight, speech, hearing or a limb as the result of an accident. To receive the benefits, the death or injuries must be proven, direct results of the accident. Also, the injuries or death usually must occur within a certain period of time after the accident.

Dismemberment coverage is paid out on a “per-member” basis. For example, if you lose one member (a hand, foot, limb, sight in one eye, speech or hearing), the insurance company will usually pay a percentage of the full benefit, generally 50%. If you lose two members, you will receive the whole benefit. For partial or complete paralysis, coverages vary but are usually 25 to 50%.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

 Disability Insurance
 Critical Illness Insurance
 Simplified Issue Critical Illness Insurance*
 Travel Insurance
 Long Term Care Insurance
 Health Spending Account
 Synergy – Life – Disability – Critical Illness

Chances are, you know someone who has been the recipient of a Living Benefit. Hopefully your friend or family member has recovered and is now healthy and stable once again.

A person who has received income or a lump sum amount while either on disability, or having experienced a travel medical emergency, is receiving care at home or in a facility which had been paid for by insurance; each person in these examples have received some form of a Living Benefit.

Are you prepared for an unexpected accident, illness, or disability? In other words, do you have 3-12 months savings set aside to help you through recovery, pay your rent/mortgage, other liabilities and living expenses, let alone any medical expenses that are not normally covered by medical plans or perhaps your group plan (if available to you)? Or, would you have to redeem part of your retirement savings plan to help you and your family through?
Alternatively, you can plan for the unexpected and provide peace of mind knowing you and your family will have the means to help you get through potential tough times brought on by an accident, disability or critical illness.

Common types of living benefit insurance plans for you to consider, include:
• Income Replacement or Disability Insurance | DI
• Simple Issue Critical Illness Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance | CI
• Health and Dental Coverage | H&D
• Travel Medical Insurance
• Long Term Care Insurance | LTC

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

Disability insurance typically provides disability income benefits that begin at the end of a specified waiting period and that continues when the insured person returns to work, dies, or becomes eligible for pension benefits. Disability insurance exists to replace income in the event of total, or in some cases partial disability, due to accident or sickness.

The variations in policies come in the form of waiting (elimination) periods and length of coverage. The waiting period is the amount of time you must wait before benefits begin. Typical waiting periods include 30 days, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. This is equivalent to a deductible. The length of coverage can vary from 2 years, 5 years, to age 65 or in some cases lifetime.

The best definition of disability for the purposes of disability insurance would include the inability to perform the duties of one’s own occupation. Disability insurance protects against this loss of income in the event of this inability.

Age, occupation, waiting period, coverage amounts and coverage length all contribute to the determination of policy costs.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your income replacement and insurance needs.

Critical Illness (CI) Insurance offers a lump sum cash benefit upon diagnosis of over 20 covered medical conditions*. This protection gives you the freedom to make choices regarding your treatment, care and recovery. Having financial independence during an illness may help in your recovery, while preserving your investments, savings and assets for your future.

* Refer to your policy for covered conditions and definitions, terms will vary per policy.

Here are some compelling statistics to be aware of;

Heart Attack *From the Heart and Stroke Foundation
1 in 4 Canadians will contract some form of heart disease. 75,000 Canadians suffer heart attacks each year. Heart disease costs the Canadian economy approximately $19 billion every year in medical services, hospitalisation expenses, loss of income and loss of productivity. The rate of death among patients hospitalised for heart attacks has been decreased by half, from 16% to 8%. 1 in 2 heart attack victims is under age 65.

Stroke *From the Heart and Stroke Foundation
50,000 Canadians suffer a stroke each year. 75% survive the initial event. Strokes are the leading cause of neurological disability. One-Third of stroke victims are under the age of 65. 60% of stroke victims will be left with a disability.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) *From the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
More than 50,000 Canadians have Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is the most common neurological disease among young Canadians. Canadians have one of the highest rates of MS in the world. Women are twice as likely to develop MS as men.

Parkinson’s Disease *From the Parkinson’s Foundation of Canada
30% of all Parkinson’s patients are under the age of 50. 20% of all Parkinson’s patients are under the age of 40. Approximately 80,000 to 100,000 Canadians are suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.

Paralysis *From the National Spinal Cord Injury Association of Canada
Each year an estimated 900 Canadians sustain a spinal cord injury. Over 30,000 Canadians suffer from paralysis of 2 or more limbs. Most persons who suffer spinal cord injury are between 16 and 30 years of age. The most common causes of spinal cord injury are car collisions and falls.

Cancer *From the Canadian Cancer Society
More than 130,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Over 60,000 people in Canada will die this year from the disease.
• 1 in 3 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetime.
• 1 in 9 women will develop breast cancer.
• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2.5 men will develop cancer in their lifetime.

Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery *From the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario/Canada
Bypass surgery is performed more often on men than women by a ratio of nearly 4 to 1. Approximately 11,000 bypass surgeries are performed in Canada each year. The rate at which bypass surgery is performed on people age 65 and older has increased.

Alzheimer’s Disease *From the Canadian Alzheimer Society
Alzheimer’s Disease is the fourth leading cause of death in Canada. Every year approximately 10,000 Canadians die from Alzheimer’s. Approximately 1 in 100 Canadians suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. There are approximately 22,000 people in Metro Toronto with Alzheimer’s Disease. The disease occurs in 8% of the general population over 60.

Kidney Failure *From the Kidney Foundation of Canada
Kidney disease ranks sixth among diseases causing death in Canada. Each day an average of 8 Canadians learn that their kidneys have failed. Approximately 2000 Canadians are on a waiting list for kidney transplant. 351 kidney transplants were performed in Ontario in 1995. 1 in 10 will develop kidney stones at some point in their lives.

Deafness *From the Canadian Hearing Society
280,000 Canadians are deaf. 1,120,000 Canadians are hard of hearing. 1,400,000 do not use amplification. There are more than 2,800,000 Canadians suffering from hearing loss.

Occupational HIV *From the Canadian Aids Society
Approximately 4.4 million health care workers suffer 800,000 needle sticks and other injuries from sharp objects annually. An estimated 16,000 of these objects are contaminated with HIV.
These statistics don’t relate to strangers, but to you, your family and friends, and the people you talk to every day.

Advances in medical technology have resulted in decreases in death rates and have helped more people survive longer. While we are living longer, we are still getting ill. If you survived a critical illness would you have enough money, if needed, for:
• a Private Nurse
• Home care
• Special medical treatments inside or outside Canada
• Job or career retraining
• Daily living costs (food, medicine, mortgage or rent, taxes, transportation)

The C.I. benefit is only paid if you live. Issue is limited to individuals in good health between the ages of 18 and 65 for face amounts of between $25,000 and $1,000,000. Of the many companies offering this coverage, the qualification for benefit is that the insured must survive at least 30 days after diagnosis of the covered condition; however, some insurance companies have a longer waiting period for some illnesses.
Qualification for benefit is not based on inability to work. Covered persons collect the full amount of coverage even if they make a full recovery. There is generally a full refund of premiums paid if a covered person dies and no benefit has been paid. The coverage is offered in different forms such as 10 year renewable or level coverage to a specific age. One insurance company offers this coverage in small amounts in the form of group insurance benefits for employees.

* Not all insurance companies cover the same illnesses. Following are generally the illnesses covered:

Basic Coverage includes:
• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Coronary Artery Bypass
• Life Threatening Cancer

Comprehensive Coverage:
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Aortic Surgery
• Aplastic Anaemia
• Bacterial Meningitis
• Benign Brain Tumour
• Blindness
• Coma
• Deafness
• Heart Valve Replacement
• Kidney Failure
• Loss of Independent Existence
• Loss of Limbs
• Loss of Speech
• Major Organ Failure on Waiting List for Transplant
• Major Organ Transplant
• Motor Neuron Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Occupational HIV Infection
• Paralysis
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Severe Burns

Contact your Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your critical illness insurance needs.

It is sometimes recommended to purchase Simplified Issue Critical Illness (CI) insurance because only a few health questions need to be answered to qualify for this Critical Illness Coverage.

The face amount (up to $100,000) is paid in a lump-sum, 30 days after the diagnosis of one of the covered illnesses or medical conditions: cancer, heart attack, stroke or coronary surgery. The benefit is paid tax-free to the insured or beneficiary.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

Long Term Care Insurance provides for the day-in, day-out assistance you need when a serious illness or disability renders you unable, physically or cognitively, to care for yourself for a lengthy period of time. Long-term care can be provided at home or at a nursing facility, assisted living or alternative care facility.

Long-term care needs can occur at any age. A long-term care policy can prevent work interruption to care for aging family members. Having a long-term care policy may help you avoid draining your financial resources at the expense of your standard of living.

Canadians require long-term care services, with more than one-third of all costs coming out of the families’ pockets. Here are some other eye-opening statistics:
• The average daily rate for nursing home care is more than $125. The average nursing home cost is approximately $50,000 per year.
• The average daily charge of assisted living is about $60 (or $22,000 per year), and home care costs for the chronically disabled are about $15,000 per year.
• Over 48% of Canadians age 65 and older will enter a nursing home at some time during their lives.

Contact Smart Advice today for a quote or to arrange a review of your insurance needs.

A one-of-a-kind, three-in-one solution

Synergy offers the protection of a three-in-one solution: a life insurance policy, a disability insurance policy and a critical illness insurance policy – all in one package.

Option to purchase a permanent life insurance policy using your remaining amount of available insurance at age 65 – without medical underwriting.*

*Available provided you have not received a critical illness covered condition benefit and is limited to your remaining amount of insurance. Also subject to Smart Advice’s minimum limits for the product you choose.

Your Synergy critical illness policy covers 22 conditions:
• Cancer
• Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
• Heart Attack
• Stroke (cerebrovascular accident)
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Aortic Surgery
• Benign Brain Tumour
• Blindness
• Coma
• Deafness
• Heart Valve Replacement
• Kidney Failure
• Loss of Limbs
• Loss of Speech
• Major Organ Transplant
• Major Organ Failure (on waiting list)
• Motor Neuron Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Occupational HIV Infection
• Paralysis
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Severe Burns

Early Intervention conditions:
• Coronary Angioplasty
• Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast
• Stage A (T1a or T1b) prostate cancer

What’s your risk?
All too often we hear about someone we know who has to face the unexpected. It’s hard to believe, but it could happen to us when we least expect it.

The risk of dying before age 65 is relatively low for many people. And yet, we often feel an obligation to protect those we love from that risk.

Factor in the risk of disability or a critical illness before age 65 and the picture changes. Dramatically, and while thankfully, recovery is often the outcome, these claims can be devastating to the financial future of you and your family.

Synergy is:
• Easy to manage – fill out one application, pay one amount
• Affordable – address three risk areas with one cost-effective solution
• Unique – its pool of money concept provides protection across three needs
• Flexible – choose from $100,000 to $500,000 in Synergy protection

Welcome to Synergy — here for you when life happens. Refer to the Guide for particulars.

Let us help you. Contact Smart Advice or our office to review your insurance needs.

Individual Group Insurance
Just as most consumers purchase insurance on their autos and homes to protect their property and themselves in the case of an accident, some individuals can also purchase insurance on a group basis. For example, a family to protect against unforeseen expenses arising from illness, injury or accidents.

Today, with health care costs rising dramatically each year, even relatively simple medical procedures can run into thousands of dollars. However, it is not just the cost of medical care that is rising. The variety of care available is also increasing.

In order to reduce the risk of unexpected health care costs, private health insurance companies now offer an array of health insurance programs and plans that vary widely in terms of coverage, costs and benefits.
Although at first glance, some health insurance quotes, plans and policies may seem the same, after reviewing the technical language, it will become obvious that they are quite different. Because of the often difficult-to-understand terminology, exclusions, and limitations contained in these policies. For this reason, careful consideration should be given, often with the advice of your Advisor.

Group Insurance – Standard / Regular Group Plan
Insurance designed with businesses in mind. While individual insurance plans can deny coverage or increase rates to a specific individual due to poor medical conditions or high-risk situations, a group insurance plan cannot. Insurance companies must accept the entire group or none at all, nor can they increase rates to one individual. With group insurance plans, there is strength in numbers. Listed below are some of the different types of group insurance plans.

Group Health Insurance Coverage
All of the individual types of plans can be purchased on a group basis. Only full time employees may participate in these plans, as determined by the insurance company. (Usually 25 hours per week is considered full time.) It is generally required that the employers pay a percentage of at least the employee portion of the premium. This ensures adequate participation for the insurance companies so as to avoid adverse selection (meaning companies don’t want to cover sick employees only).

Group Life Insurance Coverage
These plans are usually required in conjunction with group health plans and can be provided in a variety of ways. Benefits can be the same amount for all employees or can be based upon salary or class of employee.

Group Short Term Disability Insurance Coverage
Coverage is generally provided upon the first day of an accident, or upon the eighth day of an illness for a period of 13, 26, or 52 weeks. Usually benefits are for 66 2/3% of salary, but different benefit percentages are available with different companies and in different situations. Definitions of disability vary with different insurance companies.

Group Long Term Disability Insurance Coverage (LTD)
Coverage is provided for longer periods of time than with Short Term Disability, typically two years, and five years, to age 65 or for life. Elimination periods (also called waiting periods) are longer generally than with STD. This is the time one must wait once disabled before benefits begin. Disability definitions are critical in evaluating these plans.

Group Dental Insurance Coverage
Coverage is generally provided for employees and their families for dental expenses ranging from check-ups and X-rays to major expenses raging from crowns to orthodontics. Often times there may be deductibles for the members from $25-$100 and to control costs. Dental is really not an “insured” benefit. When these plans are utilized beyond insurance company’s anticipation claim levels, the premiums tend to rise.

Group Critical Illness Insurance Coverage
Coverage is generally provided for employees only in the event they suffer a major critical illness. Group C.I. is offered from amounts ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the size and budget of the group. Heart attack, stroke, cancer and coronary disease requiring by-pass surgery are the four basic coverages offered. Some plans may cover for additional critical illnesses depending on the insurance company and the particulars of the group.
Tax implications vary per plan and whether it is paid for by the employee or the employer. Consult your Advisor to determine the appropriate plan for you and your family/business based on your Needs Analysis.

Let us help you!
Contact Smart Advice to request your group quote today!