Friday, September 18, 2009

Canadian Tire Term Life Insurance: Is It As Favorable As It Seems To Be?


You many believe that Canadian Tire is firm that deals with furniture, tools and outdoor living, but it is life insurance. The home hardware company adjusted their life insurance policy and came up with a new plan. This plan is underwritten by Canada Life and subject to a new marketing drive. Analyzed next to an individual term life policy this plan isn’t necessarily up to scratch. Applying for this policy is very easy. You have the choice of applying online, by phone or mail. You will be have to fill in seven health questions and you will be expected to fill them all in. You may find you have to provide more facts or be subject to a nursing visit if any of the questions are answered yes to. The fees stay the same for the first five years, after that the fees increase. The value of the plan is $250,000.

What's the trouble? This all looks great to me.

Now we need to demonstrate to you the contrast between this type of plan and a Canada Life individual term life policy. If we examine a 40 year old male smoker. On the Canada Life policy the payments are $40 lower. The Canada Life policies are greatly lower. An individual policy offers more versatility and customization.The disadvantages to the Canadian Tire plan include limited benefits of only $250,000 and a term of no longer than 5 years. A Canadian Tire Plan also charges you PST. You can add riders to individual plans which give your extra benefits. Also you can connect it with another policy if you wish. Exclusive advise from your broker which leads to a policy worked on your individual lifestyle are another bonus rather than a standard group policy which is offered by the Canadian Tire Term Life Insurance plans. To recap: Although the Tire Plan looks great on paper your will be better off with a customized plan which suits your own lifestyle. To find out more about the Canadian Term Life Insurance, please refer to our more detailed article.

Photo source: kenyee

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Paychecks for insurance agents.


Insurance advisers generally get their commission when an insurance policy is made valid. This goes both for captive advisers, who are paid just by one company, and for independent ones, who work for more different insurance companies. Two pluses of working with a broker are that they can advise you on the optimum type and amount of coverage and they can shop the market for the best premium. Well, we have to remark that it is the insurance company that is paying the agent. Certain misunderstanding has been brought about by the media and consumer skepticism. The following are points usually misunderstood concerning the payment process.

"The price of the life insurance policy is driven up by the commissions." The fact is that life insurance policies have some distribution costs, no matter if they are sold via salaried employees or self-employed advisers. With the price of the insurance policy, you already pay also the cost of distribution. It usually doesn't make any difference how the consumer buys the policy. Some companies, for example RBC Insurance or Manulife, charge the same rates for the same life insurance sold via multiple distribution models. A $200,000 Term 10 policy from Manulife will be the same price whether the policy is bought via their call center, website, or an independent advisor. "It is possible to negotiate the life insurance commissions." That is not true, they are not. The situation is different from when you are buying a car or a house. Once again, the commissions are built into the distribution costs of the policy and cannot be altered.

"Whole Life or Universal Life insurance pay higher commissions than Term Life insurance." Life insurance commissions are based mostly on the price of the policy, that means the higher the premium, the higher the commission. Whole and Universal policies have higher initial premiums than Term policies, but the Whole and Universal policies are bought once. If a person decides to purchase a Term policy, there are usually more of them necessary during his/her lifetime. Their price grows as the insured gets older. Each time a new policy is bought, the agent gets paid the commission, but also the insured person is older each time, so he/she has to pay a higher insurance rate. The insurance premium also depends on the health condition of the applicant - in case it has changed, the premium will increase or the coverage won't be available. It is key that the insured have a keen understanding of how much life insurance they need and how the different life insurance policies work. "Some companies pay better commissions than others." The truth is that the differences between commission rates from different providers are only slight. But anyway, this shouldn't influence the customer's decision, as insurance commissions are a fixed cost within the policy. Make sure the broker works with multiple carriers, some brokers, while independent, only work with two or three. We can ensure that you get the best possible price on the market, as our brokers cooperate with 15 different life insurance providers.

Photo source: escalade328s

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Ever thought of insuring your collection of stamps?


We all have heard of at least one person who falls into a category of collector. It can be assumed that most us have, at one time or another, collected a variety of things such as stamps, bubble gum stickers, Zippos or toy sets from breakfast cereal boxes. Then, after some time, we lose interest in what we used to thought of as collectible and boxes full of junk litter the attic floor.

But some of us turn out to be consistent and continue with their hobby for ever. There is, however, a certain type of collectors, who have taken this hobby to a higher level and have diversified their portfolios by investing in valuable coins or stamps.

So, who needs a special cover? Think about this: if you have standard homeowner insurance, it is probably good enough for your every day household needs But valuable collections are completely different story. In certain situations low value collections may be covered, but submitting a claim to the insurer is fraught with difficulties and can often be unsuccessful. The majority of homeowner policies will typically cover just the material cost and not its perceived value. Of course it is easy to claim for a broken TV set, but try claiming for a priceless rare Roman coin.

So, fellow collectors, what is the best approach to insurance if you collection is more valuable than your new car? Do you lie awake at night waiting for it to be stolen? Fortunately, an simple solution is at hand, with specialist insurance policies now available just for these kinds of collections. AIG and Allianz are but two of many insurance companies that have specialist policies for valuable collections.

Being a serious collector, it is most likely you will choose an 'all risk' policy which will insure your valuables against everything from fire to nuclear attack to 'mysterious disappearance' The strange phenomenon of 'mysterious disappearance' can be found in the cover that is provided by the Fireman's Fund policy. Transportation and traveling doesn't have to be a worry as both are covered in all specialist policies.

As it is natural for collections to increase in both size and value, policy writers account for this in the way their policies are written. You can simply phone your insurance provider to tell them them that you have invested in another item and this would be added to your policy immediately. If you are nervous about going to collect a new addition, then a quick phone call to your insurer prior to going and your new investment is insured.

Nothing can replace sentimental value in collection built up over many years.

Nevertheless, if you have adequate insurance cover, the financial impact of such a loss won't be nearly as bad as the emotional one. Unfortunately, you can't insure your emotions.

Photo source: Michael Wheeler