Personal Insurance

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Life Insurance

It is a contract with an insurance company to pay out a tax-free amount to your beneficiaries/estate upon death.

Three types
1) Term Insurance- Coverage designed for a specific term, great way to cover temporary insurance needs. ( Most common are 10 yr. term and 20 yr. term)

2) Whole Life- Provides permanent coverage with a guaranteed death benefit and level premiums. Allows the policyholder to participate in the insurance company’s profits in the form of dividends that can be used to purchase additional insurance or reduce your out-of –pocket premiums.

3) Universal Life- Provides permanent insurance with an optional tax-sheltered investment component. Unbundles the insurance and investment components of the policy.

Mortgage Insurance - Life insurance designed to cover mortgage debt. Banks generally offer you Mortgage Insurance but there are many disadvantages compared to purchasing your own coverage! There is a better and less costly alternative to Mortgage Insurance, it is called Life Insurance.

Income Replacement - Many Canadians may not realize their group long term disability benefits, association plan or government benefits (CPP) may not provide them with adequate income replacement in the event they cannot work due to accident or sickness. What is your income replacement ratio? Annual tax-free disability benefits divided by your gross annual salary multiplied by 100? For the self-employed, this benefit is a must, , ex. 40 year old professional earning $125,000 per year has potential earnings until age 65 of $4 Million plus, clearly this is his /her greatest asset, the likelihood of becoming disabled before Age 65 is far greater than dying, without your income how will you survive?

Critical Illness Insurance - Pays out a tax-free lump sum (up to 2 Million) after diagnosis of a covered critical illness. There are up to 25 covered conditions including Heart Attach, Cancer, Stroke, and Bypass surgery. You get paid if you are sick or if you are healthy you can receive 100% of your premiums back. There are no stipulations as to how the money is used, you can pay off debts, take a vacation, or access medical care, the choice is up to you.

Long Term Care - You can receive up to $10,000/mo. if you require long-term care in your home or in a long-term care facility. The benefit is triggered if you experience a cognitive impairment or the inability to perform two of five daily activities of living; bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting or continence. Benefits can be used in any manner you wish!

Group Benefits - Whether you have a plan in place or are looking to set up a program we can help. We offer a range of products from your traditional Group Benefit plans to Health Spending Accounts to Individual Plans . Full access to the market allows us to achieve the most cost-effective solutions for your particular situation. A full analysis, design, costing, implementation and servicing of your plan will be provided. Are you getting the most out of your benefit dollar?

Key Person - Is an important form of business insurance. An insurance policy is taken out to compensate the business for financial losses that could arise due to the death/disability of an employee whose knowledge, work or overall contribution is considered uniquely valuable to the company. This is to help cover losses until the company can recruit, hire and train a new successor.

Buy/Sell (Partnership) - A Buy/Sell Agreement is a contract usually entered into between business partners pursuant to which the surviving partner(s) are bound to buy out the other partner’s interest in the business should a specific event occur. Specific events that may trigger a Buy/Sell Agreement are death, divorce, long-term disability, retirement or bankruptcy. The agreement is often linked to an insurance policy on each partner’s lives to fund the buy-out of that deceased/disabled partner’s shares.

Healthcare Spending Accounts (HCSAs also known as HSAs)
Employee benefits costs form a significant portion of corporate compensation expenses, and these costs are escalating. Benefit programs are important to employees, who are seeking to protect themselves and their families from government downloading of medical costs, and the possibility of catastrophic events.

Healthcare Spending Accounts (HCSAs) have become a popular alternative to traditional group health and dental plans. They are practical, affordable, flexible, and a cost-effective way to meet the changing needs of many employers and diverse needs of their employees.

Many employers are considering HCSAs as an alternative when reviewing or initiating their employee benefits plan.

What Are They?
Healthcare Spending Accounts are pre-determined amounts of money provided to employees at the beginning of each benefit year for coverage of their medical and dental expenses. It is like a special bank account, funds held in-trust, between employer and employee that is used to pay for eligible health-related expenses.

This amount is held in trust and claims are submitted by employees and reimbursed in a similar fashion to a traditional benefits plan. Eligible expenses are reimbursed at 100 per cent up to the total dollar amount available in the HCSA. A Healthcare Spending Account can replace or exist alongside traditional medical and dental coverage.

Healthcare Spending Accounts ensure controlled benefit costs for the employer and complete claim flexibility for the employees. It is a flexible benefits alternative because you control what health expenses you use it for.

Tax Advantages
Healthcare Spending Accounts provide a way for plan sponsors to deliver benefits to their employees using pre-tax dollars. As with a traditional employee benefits plan, an HCSA is a private health services plan. The plan cost is a tax-deductible business expense and the benefits are received tax-free. This can be a significant advantage for owners, executives, and key employees as they can pay for significant medical and dental expenses with corporate dollars in the most tax effective way possible.

HCSA and Traditional Insurance
Healthcare Spending Accounts provide no ‘insurance’ coverage. They are strictly a reimbursement plan. Traditional insurance products – group life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, critical illness insurance, and out-of-country emergency medical coverage – can be added to an HCSA plan to round out an employer sponsored benefit plan offering. Many employers also add stop loss insurance protection to insure medical expenses that exceed a certain pre-determined threshold. This helps plan sponsors protect employees and their families from unexpected catastrophic medical expenses such as high cost prescription drugs or extended hospital stays that may occur in a given year.

Healthcare Spending Accounts provide employers with complete control over claims costs each year because the employees can only claim up to their individual maximums. Funds that are not used for claims within the specified time period remain the property of the plan sponsor and will be returned to them. For employers looking for creative ways to control their health and dental expenditures; Healthcare Spending Accounts can be an ideal solution.

Emergency Claims Numbers

• Axa Insurance - 1-800-268-0008
• Chubb Insurance - 1-800-532-4822
• Dominion of Canada Insurance - 1-800-661-5522
• Farmers Mutual - 1-877-280-3030
• Intact Insurance C - 1-888-542-3333
• Pafco (Pembridge) Insurance - 1-800-387-0462
• Pembridge Insurance - 1-800-387-0462
• Royal & Sun Alliance - 1-800-263-9280
• Wawanesa Mutual Insurance - 1-800-561-4115