tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89653080146522751342024-03-14T01:57:45.380-07:00LSM insuranceChantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-20619665175105434392011-12-15T06:09:00.000-08:002011-12-15T06:09:00.418-08:00Insuring Collectibles: Tips for Hobbyists and Professionals<p>Precious collectibles might have a great value, but seldom get covered against all potential ways of destruction. A set of canvases with paintings, a coin collection, signed props of one’s most favourite music group, or rare and foreign goblin merchandise from a movie are but a few examples of valuable things that people like to collect.</p><p>Whether the core goal of your collecting is passion or a means of investment, it is wise to have your precious collection insured. Granted, the cash you receive will not make up for the enthusiasm you have invested, but it might at least allow you to start de novo. Learn more from <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/">life insurance specialist</a> Lorne S. Marr...</p><h2>Specific Insurance Coverage</h2><p>Clients must take into consideration that this underwriting follows different principles than insuring other types of property. Conventional kinds of property insurance as a rule only cover the quantifiable value of the insured item. A stolen flat-screen TV can be replaced by a new one and a flooded hard-wood parquets can be removed and re-laid. Such things are almost always easy to replace — an exceptional vase or an inherited signed photograph of one’s favourite talented opera singer aren’t.</p><p>For that reason, pricey collectibles have to be considered and insured on their own. You can approach several insurance companies that include collectibles insurance in their portfolio in Canada.</p><h2>Estimating the Price</h2><p>Plenty of clients imagine that the collectible items must be valued by a specialist before it is insured. This is not unavoidably the case. Official appraisers have to be rewarded for their statements, which would make frequent evaluations unworkable.</p><p>Even still, you should be able to justify the benefit sum you choose. Correct appraisal may ensure your monthly or yearly insurance fees are efficient. In addition, it will also expedite the claims filed that may come later on To rephrase, if you inflate the value of your collection, you are risking that the heightened insurance fees will never actually pay off for you.</p><p>There are abundant guides for accurate self-valuation of a wide range of collectibles. Delve into the ways to buy and sell your type of collectibles and/or discuss with other seasoned collectors to begin building the bigger picture.</p><h2>Risks in the Terms</h2><p>If you ever wish to take out insurance on your special collection, check out the plan that covers ‘all risks.’ As well as the normal dangers of robbery, flood, or fire,, an ‘all-risk’ plan will cover natural wear and tear, damage or destruction in war, and even inexplicable vanishing.</p><p>What is more, you will likely be able to include new items in your coverage easily. If you are greatly invested in collecting, contact your insurance provider before you pick the item up to bring it home, so you are covered on the way!</p><h2>Documentation</h2><p>More critical than a costly appraisal is maintaining a detailed inventory of your items and any receipts from the purchases, sales, and exchangesof your pieces where feasible. Take photos or other visual evidence of all of your revered collectibles. Such documentation will likely help abridge any claiming process if indeed you misplace part or all of your belongings.</p><h2>Funny Examples of Collectibles Insurance</h2><p>Clients often generate uncanny accounts of their collections’ loss or destruction. A tiny bit of advice: please do not cry over your valuable images or show them off to visitors who are allergic to your pets. Pets in general often devour pieces of puzzles and wet paintings. Some collectors like to drive with part of their collection placed on their car’s roof, or dare upsetting their less enthused girlfriends and wives, who then frequently tend remove the prized possessions.</p><p>If you want to be on the safe side regarding collectibles insurance, please locate a knowledgeable specialist insurance broker or <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/">financial advisor</a> in your area.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-3565871663589798852011-12-01T01:41:00.000-08:002011-12-01T01:41:00.712-08:00Claiming an Insurance Coverage in Canada<p>When people think about life insurance, they often ask “What legal consequences does passing have?” and, “How do the beneficiaries get hold of the insurance coverage sum?” Filling out paperwork is definitely not something you would seek when you just lost a loved one. Therefore, Hence, LSM Insurance do our best to reduce the hassle of the claiming process for you as much as possible.</p><p>In order to begin the claims process, one should contact the <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies">life insurance company</a> and also one’s life insurance broker or agent. This will start the claim process.</p><p>Consider that the life insurance carrier will request a death certificate. One can be obtained from the funeral home. They will also require the beneficiaries to deliver a claimant form which spells out some information about the death of the insured person. These would namely be the time of death, the cause of death, and all the personal information of the claimant or claimants. After signing and filing this document, the <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies">life insurance carrier</a> may verify with the client’s doctor some of the information avowed in the initial request. It is important to make clear that should there be many claimants on a particular policy, each one of them will have to fill in his or her own claimant form.</p><p><a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies">Canadian life insurers</a> are more likely to want to examine the cause of death if the claim took place within the initial two years of the insurance policy. The resolution methods and requirements do differ from company to company, so it is crucial that the claimant verifies this information with an insurance broker or the life insurer.</p><p>It is possible that the insured person have multiple insurance policies at the same time, obtained by way of multiple channels. Remember that insurance policies do not actually pay out lest someone files an application. For that reason, make sure that you take care to find out about the possible other life insurance policies. There could be more funds which you are entitled to apply for to which you may be oblivious. Life insurance is regularly presented to those applying for credit cards or lines of credit. Do not forget to contact your or your loved one’s insurance broker to assist you with making a claim if you have any worries about the procedures. Certainly research all potential kinds of life insurance coverage that your loved one may ever have taken on.</p><p>Compiled by Lorne Marr, an insurance expert and he is also an authority on <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/">Canadian no-medical life insurance</a>. Lorne is familiar with more than a dozen Canadian life insurance companies.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-87872110225047486262011-11-16T09:22:00.000-08:002011-11-16T09:22:00.305-08:00Low Interest Rates in Life Insurance<p>In order to encourage growth throughout the universal financial downturn, overnight lending rate of Bank of Canada has stayed at one per cent since September 2010 and is most likely to linger at this figure in the foreseeable time horizon.</p><p>The United States, China and emerging economies will grow slower than previously thought. Unfortunately, the European Union is falling into a relatively mild decline. Nobody said, however, that the developments cannot in fact be less favourable.</p><p>All this is bad news for Canada’s insurers. Their income depend on interest incurred in financial investments.</p><p>Proceeds from life insurance premiums are usually put into bonds—a relatively very safe investment vehicle—and remain there to generate interest. This interest can cover the costs of insurance claims, overhead and other miscellaneous obligations. Interest revenue left over will become insurance company profits.</p><p>Unprecedentedly low rates have put the screws to profitability for of Canadian insurers. Many insurers are trying to balance out these rates by inflating the price of their <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/tips/universal-life/whole-universal">permanent life insurance</a> policies. <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/manulife">Manulife</a>, <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/empire-life-insurance">Empire Life</a>, <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/industrial-alliance-life-insurance">Industrial Alliance</a>, <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/canada-life-insurance-company">Canada Life</a>, and <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/bmo-life-insurance">BMO Insurance</a> have all bumped up the fees on their level-cost <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/tips/universal-life">universal life</a> plans. Manulife has taken even more drastic measures – they decided to remove this type of coverage from their permanent life offering altogether. What’s more, additional players are likely to do the same in the foreseeable future.</p><p>The outlooks are ugly, seeing as central banks in the US and Canada are saying that interest rates are going to remain low for the foreseeable future.</p><p>One positive outcome of this situation is that a few smaller Canadian insurers try to attract new customers by freezing their permanent plan rates.</p><p>Please read more on <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/life-insurance-canada/2011/10/group-insurance-what-impact-are-low-interest-rates-having">the effect of the current interest rate trough on government employees and pensions</a>.</p><p>Lorne Marr, author, is an insurance specialist and an authority on <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/">no medical life insurance</a>. Lorne works with over a dozen Canadian life insurers.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-50205526239666827762011-10-09T04:12:00.000-07:002011-10-09T04:12:00.195-07:00What’s the News with Critical Illness Insurance?<p><a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/application/ontario/critical-illness.html">Critical illness</a> is nothing that we’d like to face at any point in our lives. Because the possibility of developing an illness can never be eradicated entirely, it is important that one takes precautions.</p><p>Only then, one is able to make key financial decisions. Taking on the suitable insurance plan now – while you are healthy – is one of the ways to make up for some of the unexpected costs that might be brought about by a critical illness. And that is the reason why <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/life-insurance-canada/2011/08/there-are-now-over-500000-in-force-critical-illness-policies-in-canada">there are half a million such policies active in Canada</a>.</p><p>Life-and-death conditions are but a slice of the story. Even if one exceeds the originally estimated elimination period, the insurance company may take time to review the claim. One of the measures taken, for example, is to validate whether the insured knew of the illness at the time of application.</p><p>The latest news is that a few Critical Illness insurers in Canada bring forward an automatic increase benefit rider. This rider works to augment the policy’s critical illness insurance benefit at scheduled intervals. These automatic increases also mean that the monthly premiums in accordance with the benefit increase.</p><p><a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/rbc-life-insurance">RBC Insurance</a>, for one, offers its clients a biannual Automatic Increase Benefit Rider. This rider provides the insured with an opportunity to add to her or his benefit every second insurance policy anniversary until the rider terminates.</p><p> What is more, during the initial ten years of the policy, the insured person can boost their benefit amount without having to provide additional proof of his or her insurability. The amount is going to be equal to 20% of the originally agreed-upon policy benefit. This means the actual coverage can increase by 100% this way.</p><p>One caveat: RBC automatic increases may not be deferred or missed. In case the customer declines an increase, the add-on automatically terminates. Though, previous increases and corresponding increased premiums will still be in effect.</p><p>Speaking of inter-insurer variances Canada Life draws a distinction between cigar and pipe smokers in that they classify cigar and pipe smokers as if they were non-smokers for the purposes of critical illness and <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian/disability-insurance">disability plans</a>. This fact has a great potential to cut down the total price.</p><p>Check out for recommended reading about Critical Illness insurance: How <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/equitable-life-insurance">Equitable Life Insurance</a> <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/2011/09/critical-illness-plan-for-children">reworked Critical Illness Plan for kids</a>.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-28124714215236161182011-08-10T08:17:00.000-07:002011-08-10T08:17:00.783-07:00Various Insurance Policies Clarified<p>Today, we will take a peek at several types of insurance products offered to all of us that many are oblivious to. My short list should give you an overview of what is available out there.</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/" style="display:block;float:right;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ay055COOhjo/Tj_-dbZQuaI/AAAAAAAAADc/p2IJbWZyx1o/s400/policies3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638505040014522786" />
<br />American Insurance Company Building in Newark, New Jersey by wallyg</a>
<br /><h2>Mortgage Life Insurance</h2><p>Kicking off with what is a terrible product: <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/mortgage-life-insurance">Mortgage life insurance</a>. This idea obliges you to pay for coverage that weakens as you go. This means that the more cash you pay in, the more risk remains uncovered. This is such a bad deal that no one should ever agree to, since there are dramatically better means of insuring the household to offset the risk of default.</p><h2>Bump Up Remuneration using <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian/group-benefits-plan">Group Insurance</a></h2><p>Employee benefits have the potential to engage HR managers for a long time. There are simply countless combinations of various perks and it is very hard to pick the ones your people will enjoy most. To top it off, the costs of employee benefits have been making it crucial that companies’ choices are as financially efficient as possible.</p><p>When you have acquainted yourself with the available combinations, look for perks your employees will prefer. Be open with them and give them several options to select from in a simple survey or take a look at their claims history and search for major examples of behaviour. Record and consult your approach and progress with an expert group specialist to prevent ordinary mistakes and boost the efficacy of the process.</p><h2>No-medical Life Insurance</h2><p><a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/">Guaranteed issue life insurance</a> is a specific category of life insurance that is available to almost any applicant regardless of her or his medical history. This includes patients with lethal illnesses, patients with AIDS, and patients with unhealthy habits, such as smoking or drug abuse.</p><p>Insurance companies will accept almost anyone and they will ask only a few or no medical questions during the application process. Because this practice exposes insurers to much greater risk, the cost will show this and will be considerably more costly than with traditional life insurance plans. Also, the maximum coverage sum will typically be topping at several thousand dollars, whereas traditional agreements may easily reach anywhere up to millions of dollars. In addition no medical and simplified issue life insurance plans will contain exclusions in order to protect the underwriter from “abuse” by people who are extremely close to death. These are all sacrifices that you will have to make if you do not qualify for mainstream life insurance plans but want to be covered to a certain extent.</p>
<br />Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-67606115117520129672011-05-06T03:14:00.000-07:002011-05-06T03:14:00.265-07:00Life Insurance to Compensate for Detrimental Impact of Earthquakes<p>In the aftermath of the earthquake near the Japanese islands and the devastation it brought into the country of the rising sun, we looked into the exposure of Canadians to earthquakes and the ways we can protect ourselves. The events in Japan make us feel very strongly for survivors and victims alike.</p><p>Quakes are lethal and emotionally disturbing. This is most certainly the case in Japan, where the Sendai quake registered a 9.0 reading on the Richter scale and thus was the 5<sup>th</sup> strongest quake recorded in the history. The magnitude, however, is not really the most important either, because even a less momentous earthquake originating within an inhabited area may come to be more serious than a forceful occurrence happening in the middle of the Pacific. The <a href="http://lsminsurance.blogspot.com/2010/07/were-you-and-your-loved-ones-caught-up.html">last earthquake in Canada</a> could be noticed not that long ago, taking place just a few months ago on June 23<sup>rd</sup>, 2010 between Québec and Ontario. The thing nobody wants to worry about after living through something like an earthquake is paying for picking up the shattered pieces – this is where life insurance coverage can come in very handy.</p><p>We enquired five chief Canadian insurance companies and all of these will cover death in the event of a disaster. The insured, however, mustn’t be hit by the disaster while visiting specifically prohibited locations.</p><p>The prevalence of natural disasters of huge significance steadily rises. It was hardly a few weeks prior to the quake in Sendai that swaths of Australia were under water.</p><p>While no more than 75,000 lives were lost yearly during the 1990s, compared to 86,328 each year during the eighties, an average of 211 million people were directly affected by natural disaster in the 90s – up from 147 million in the eighties.</p><p>The number of natural disasters has tripled since the 60s and, even worse, the monetary effect has amplified by a factor of nine in that same time.</p><p>Death due to an earthquake is increasingly possible all the time, so in <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/">Canada, life insurance</a> that helps when someone dies in an earthquake is only a natural choice.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-27558625783430510842011-05-03T04:42:00.000-07:002011-05-03T04:42:00.678-07:00Cremation as an Alternative to Burial and Your Life Insurance Coverage<p>The cost of cremation is by far smaller than that of a burial in Canada. Nonetheless, the cost of cremation still vary widely. Much depends on the complexity of the cremation ceremony that you select, the region you are home in, and the funeral provider that you use. If you have been hesitant to ask thus far, according to <a href="http://www.canadianfunerals.com/funeral-related-articles/differences-in-cost-between-burial-and-cremation-in-canada.html">a article on cremation</a>, a direct cremation normally comes at about $700. With an obit, holy service, transportation and catering, decorations and viewing, the total expense may climb up to $2,700. Although much cheaper than the burials worth thousands of dollars, this is still a significant item in the budgets of most of us.</p><p>The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) claims that the ratio of cremations to traditional funerals in Canada, from about 5.89% in the seventies to over 68% in 2009. An article on the <a href="http://blogs.canoe.ca/parker/general/the-business-of-death/">funeral “business” from Sun Media</a> asserts that last year, cremation amounted to a slight majority of all funerals in Canada. The climbing "popularity" of incineration in the recent years can be credited to one thing – inexpensiveness.</p><p>LSM Insurance is aware that many of us are interested in substitutes of the traditional funeral to save some money. In <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca">Canada, life insurance</a> can be a very effective strategy for doing away with the wide range of outlays associated with cremation.</p><p>Life insurance proceeds are paid out tax-free and, in most cases, the coverage can be taken out for a quite reasonable monthly fee. Life insurance policies usually fall under one of the following three groups:</p><ol><li><strong>Traditional Life Insurance</strong>, where the client is required to subject her- or himself to a medical check-up and answer a comprehensive list of health questions.</li><li><strong>Simplified Issue Life Insurance</strong> that does not require medical tests and the insured has to complete anywhere from 3-twelve health-related questions.</li><li><strong>Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance</strong>without health check-ups and the insured needen’t complete any questions. Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance is also referred to as <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/">No Medical Life Insurance</a></li></ol><p>One trouble with guaranteed issue as mentioned above (and certain simplified issue insurance plans) is the contractual limitation of the payout to a return-of-premium and applicable interest in case the insured passes away within the first two years due to non-accidental causes. This safeguard is in place to prevent insurance policies from becoming a speculative form of investment for otherwise uninsurable applicants.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-65467547466324604212011-04-16T09:51:00.000-07:002011-04-16T09:51:00.698-07:00RBC Insurance's "Business Insurance Rider"<p>Insurance policies often bear a resemblance to a car purchase. As soon as you decide for the fundamental insurance policy, there is a large array of alternatives, riders and tweaks that you may potentially need. They can add to your policy and help account for your individual risks easily. Some optional riders are more often applied than others, but all may be beneficial to you.</p><p>RBC Insurance now offers a Business Insurance Option, which is basically akin to the <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/life-insurance-canada/2008/08/rbc-increases-limits-on-its-future-income-option">Future Income Option</a> which applies to its disability insurance policy.</p><p>The business insurance option is a policy rider attachable to RBC’s Disability Insurance. The rider is an affordable one guarantees for the insured an opportunity to add additional protection without having to undergo a medical examination. This is good in the event that the value of their business increases.</p><p>Akin to the Future Income Option, the Business Insurance Option guarantees that the owners are incontestably insurable in the future. If one of the partners was diagnosed with a health issue (such as diabetes) but, at the same time, their company grew in its worth. Purchasing extra coverage down the road could very well become an issue in a traditional instance. However, thanks to the Business Insurance Option, the business owner can compound their personal income coverage once every two years from the policy’s effective date. This date—often being the same as the beginning date of the rider—is the so-called “option date”.</p><p>These are the specifics of this particular disability rider:</p><ul><li>The highest face value of the newly acquired coverage is eighteen per cent of the rider figure at a time.</li><li>Financial data attesting the client’s claim to purchase additional coverage is required, but the insured won’t need to provide additional health-related information when these option dates are applied.</li><li>The additional premium is, however, calculated based on the insured’s current age, not his or her original application age.</li><li>The added option income falls under a matching type of coverage and agreement terms as those of underlying insurance plan.</li></ul><p>Learn about more special policy riders and options. Stay updated about the <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/">latest insurance news</a>, check out the LSM Insurance online portal.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-84641389199328116982011-03-20T03:25:00.000-07:002011-03-20T03:29:52.222-07:00Why Would You Purchase a Group Benefit Policy<p>Mixing an attractive benefit assortment for your people may easily become an overwhelming mission. The balance between offering employees fair benefits, appealing accomplished workers and limiting expenses is a important factor which a business wants to keep in check.</p><p>To start, we need to describe what business group benefit insurance brings to you and your people: it spreads the monetary risk of incurring healthcare-related expenditures amongst numerous members of staff, all under a lone plan. Every person then pays a fraction of the plan premium.</p><p>When an employer has taken out a Group Benefits Plan, anybody of the covered group who becomes ill or requires services is adequately recompensed by the insurance policy as laid out in the contract. Employees’ family members are included within the plan as per the contract.</p><p>Such are the benefits of a Group Benefit Policy for the employees:</p><ul><li>It gives you an edge in the job market. You appeal to and retain quality workers, which helps cut back on expenses resulting from high employee turnover. Your worker will certainly feel well taken care of.</li><li>You get health coverage at a an advantageous price. <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/tips/group/">Group Plans</a> do not discriminate and are not anti-selective, covering everybody with identical conditions.</li><li>Group benefits are a cost-effective way of protecting your employees. Such treatment brings about heightened morale and thus heightened productivity and work satisfaction.</li><li>Group Plans are tax-effective. The majority of premiums that you pay are tax-deductible as a business expense.</li></ul>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-13414514658915288352011-03-12T04:06:00.000-08:002011-03-20T04:08:27.377-07:00How Does Cosmetic Treatment Influence Your Insurability<p>As stated by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of cosmetic surgeries in this Country is the fifteenth highest in the world, with 108,758 procedures carried out per year. Especially contrasted with the rather small population of Canada, this figure is really fairly high.</p><p>The surgery ladder is headed by the US, which are followed by Brazil, China, India and Mexico. The developing countries increasingly offer advantageous price for the quality of service.</p><p>To help our clients understand the impact of invasive cosmetic and/or plastic procedures on people’s ability to purchase proper insurance coverage, LSM Insurance carried out an analysis among several large life insurance companies. Are these insurees forced to look for <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/">no medical life insurance</a>? The insurance team queried five major Canadian insurers. We might have expected that none of the insurers would give any simple resolutions, since all traditional life insurance arrangements must be underwritten fully.</p><p>Even those insurers who did talk declared that prospective clients who are looking to undergo cosmetic and plastic procedure like breast enlargement, lip enhancement, or Botulinum toxin (Botox) may qualify for standard policy pricing. However, these procedures are considered just as other operations; the life insurer may postpone making a decision for a pending surgery.Normally, the evaluation will be undertaken only after the actual operation. This means that you should basically—when possible—wait with surgery planning until after their agreement has been signed.</p><p>Surgical procedures tied with other nervous or mental maladies may carry with themselves additional hazard and could cause the client to receive a rated insurance plan premium or cause him or her to be turned down completely.</p><p>Lorne Marr, author, is an independent insurance broker and an expert on no medical life insurance. Lorne has worked in this industry for nearly two decades. His LSM Insurance brokerage firm works with more than 13 Canadian life insurers, such as <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/standard-life-assurance" target="_blank" title="Standard Life Assurance" alt="Standard Life Assurance">Standard Life Assurance</a> or <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/manulife" target="_blank" title="Manulife Life Insurance" alt="Manulife Life Insurance">Manulife Financial Life Insurance</a>.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-9586482905926188032011-02-25T01:17:00.000-08:002011-02-25T01:17:00.216-08:00Can Cocaine Users Get Traditional Life Insurance?<p>According to the most recent data (2009) from the Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey, cocaine and its derivatives were the most popular drugs used by those fifteen years or older, after marijuana.</p><p>Whereas cannabis was used by 10.6% of us during the year of the survey, roughly 1.2% of people had experience with cocaine and crack. An average of 11% of Canadians experienced an unlawful drug in the same interval. Among these drugs are heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, speed, hallucinogens (excluding salvia) and, of course, cannabis and/or marijuana. 17.7% of men and 7.6% of women had tried drugs, with youth reaching 27.3%.</p><p>Since 2004, Canadians have been abusing banned drugs less and less. This leaves plenty of former users and addicts who will want to purchase life insurance one day.</p><p>Quite understandably, insurers in Canada do not really particularly favour the use of cocaine or of other drugs. Current cocaine use, or other forms of recreational drugs, will earn the applicant an instantaneous rejection. This is simply because unlawful drug use is a <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/pre-existing-medical-conditions" target="_blank">pre-existing medical condition</a>. It should be noted, however, that drug users may qualify for simplified issue policies. This coverage is not subject to any medical tests and often does not have a drug related question.</p><p>We inquired four leading life insurers and scrutinized how their underwriting guidelines look at ecstasy, heroin and cocaine. Here is what we found:</p><ul><li>Ongoing addiction to heroin, cocaine or ecstasy will earn the applicant a decline on the part of the insurance company.</li><li>If the applicant has not been involved with drugs for more than 4 years, the insurer’s quote will in all probability lead to a policy rating if the applicant is otherwise in good shape. A policy rating means for the insured that he or she pays an additional monthly premium on his or her insurance plan due to the larger risk to the life insurance company. Plan ratings are generally in a multiple and can be anywhere from 1.5x to 5x the insurer’s usual cost.</li><li>If the client has not been abusing drugs for over 4 years, the client may qualify for standard premiums (i.e. without policy rating). Of course, this only works if there are no underlying health and lifestyle issues.</li></ul><p>An insurance advisor with enough experience in this specific area can help you acquire quality life insurance for a reasonable price.</p><p>Lorne S. Marr, author, is an insurance specialist and an expert on hard-to-insure clients. Lorne works with over a dozen Canadian insurers, such as <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/london-life-insurance" target="_blank" title="London Life Insurance Company" alt="London Life Insurance Company">London Life Insurance Company</a> or <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/london-life-insurance" target="_blank" title="London Life Insurance Company" alt="London Life Insurance Company">London Life Insurance Company</a>.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-90025332807463148312011-02-18T04:10:00.000-08:002011-02-18T04:10:01.076-08:00Life Insurance and a Cigar Smoker<p>Fancy cigars? Enjoying the occasional stogy might cost you much more than the $150 you paid for that pack of White Owls. That is, it could drown a fortune in extra life insurance premiums.</p><p>What does one do to reduce the impact of the habit of smoking cigars on the premiums? Well, most insurers allow you to have a cigar from time to time – usually once per month. Canada Life, for that matter, which tolerates one cigar as often as each week. Unity Life, on the other hand, offers a special cigar rate.</p><p>If you are , refrain from smoking cigars for at least a week so there is no lingering cotinine—a nicotine metabolite—in your body. The levels of cotinine in a person is used to measure one’s inhalation of tobacco smoke. Nicotine is “digested” by the body into cotinine, and that has a half-life of approximately twenty hours. This means that the substance’s levels will halve every twenty hours. Past the initial 20 hours, cotinine levels will sink to half, after the next 20 hours to quarter, etc. For these reasons, it is safe to expect any dose of cotinine to be metabolized untraceable after four days.</p><p>Insurance premiums for cigar smokers differ sharply from one company to another – and can quite possibly make up $40,000 over the duration of the policy.</p><p>As general advice, it is a very good idea to be truthful when applying for coverage. Until a policy has been in force for twenty-four months, the insurer has the right to contest it for misinterpretation or omission of a material detail. The ‘incontestability period’ varies depending on the life insurance company.</p><p>Smokers in general are best attended to by a knowledgeable independent broker who understands the underwriting guidelines of a range of insurance companies and keeps up-to-date on all amendments thereto. The same holds true for anyone with <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/pre-existing-medical-conditions">pre-existing medical conditions</a>.</p><p>Written by L. Marr, Toronto insurance broker and financial advisor. Lorne has been working in <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/">life insurance in Canada</a> for over a dozen years.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-74808828450318411502011-02-08T06:17:00.000-08:002011-02-08T06:23:08.609-08:00January round-upWelcome. Traditional selection of the best articles is ready. January brought us several interesting articles. The main topic was stroke and life insurance.<br /><br />Couple of articles, like this <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/buying-life-insurance-after-stroke">insurance article on squidoo</a>, or this <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/2054448/can-you-as-a-stroke-victim-get-life-insurance-">stroke-related</a> on active rain talked about your chances to purchase life insurance policy after suffering a stroke. This one on hubpages dealt with <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Get-Life-Insurance-After-Stroke">stroke insurance and patients</a>.Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-50904841492481336952011-01-04T14:34:00.000-08:002011-01-04T14:37:08.256-08:00What Is the Tactic for Getting Life Insurance after You Survived a Stroke?<p>Even if one survives a stroke, it does not yet disqualify her or him from obtaining a life insurance plan.</p><p>Stroke patients suffer either from anomalies in the way blood vessels supply nutrients to the brain tissue, or from dangerous blood leaks within their brain. Strokes can be slow, which are the cases when small volumes of blood leak into the tissue gradually. As the blood accumulates, it presses the brain tissue in the vicinity. In other cases, strokes can also come in the form of a burst vein which will release large quantities of blood into the cerebral tissue. Another type of stroke comes as the result of arterial embolism or thrombosis. In those cases a congested vein is unable to supply the brain with enough blood and renders it dead.</p><p>One way or another, the consequence is the loss of certain capacities in the patient. What is more, a stroke patient (whether or not one with milder or severe impact) is reckoned prone to suffering another stroke or to have impending health problems. Luckily, the patient is in many cases going to continue living his or her life without additional serious health problems, they usually cannot do without partial or constant attention and care from their family or professionals.</p><p>Does being a stroke patient change one's insurability? Must you worry?</p><p>A stroke has a definite impact on one's chances of obtaining life insurance. Traditional life insurance policies may be suitable depending on the scale of the stroke. In such cases, insurers will require details about the applicant's medical history, but particularly the description of the stroke, the age of the insured when the stroke occurred and any permanent cognitive or physical damage resulting from the stroke, such as difficulties with speaking and any medications applied to recover it.</p><p>Any of other related disorders that the applicant may have, namely diabetes or cholesterol, can also have an effect on a person's fitness for one policy or another. When a stroke is accompanied by but an average medical record, the patient will be much less likely to qualify for traditional life insurance policies.</p><p><a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/">Simplified Issue Non-medical Life Insurance</a> products may be another option for stroke victims. Many simplified issue carriers including <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/canada-protection-plan">Canada Protection Plan</a> and <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/assumption-life">Assumption Life</a> are ready to provide immediate insurance coverage to stroke victims provided they have had the stroke earlier than the span stipulated in the plan application form. This is typically somewhere around 24 or 36 months. It is vital to look at simplified issue alternatives prior to applying for traditional insurance because should the insured be declined from traditional insurance first, they may suddenly lose eligibility for simplified issue insurance.</p><p>LSM Insurance specializes in locating the best deals for <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/">hard-to-insure clients</a> and clients with special conditions or lifestyle.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-9326615225885725632011-01-03T04:39:00.000-08:002011-01-03T04:47:21.628-08:00December round-upDear visitors, let me introduce some of the interesting articles, we created during December 2010.<br /><br />BMO Life Assurance Company: <a href="http://danceonfilm.typepad.com/torontoinsurance/2010/12/bmo-life-revised-ratings.html">A.M. Best Revised Ratings</a> The topic is also <a href="http://torontolifeinsurance.multiply.com/journal/item/41/BMO_Life_Revised_Credit_Ratings">mentioned on multiply</a>. <div>Did you know insurers are interested in climate research? If not, read it in <a href="http://lifeinsurancehub.weebly.com/1/post/2010/12/insurers-for-climate-research.html">Insurers for Climate Research</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Tax-Saving-Tips">Tax Saving Tips</a> and <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Canadian-insurance-companies---2">Canadian insurance companies - 2</a> are waiting on Hubpages.</div>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-37207583213252568782011-01-01T15:08:00.000-08:002011-01-01T15:11:46.164-08:00LSM Insurance Brokers Are Comparably Better for You than the Others, Did You Know?<p>LSM guarantees to its clients that our brokers are serving its clients better than other Canadian insurance brokers.</p><p>The Globe and Mail exposed the hidden world of bonus and vacation structures which are aimed to push brokers to sell policies of the insurers that virtually employ them. These practices are most likely to take place when a broker is generally dependent on doing business with a single insurance company. In most cases, such incentives mean brokers are not exactly acting in their clients' best interest as they constrain their clients only to insurance plans from those insurance companies that are keen to offer the most attractive bonuses -- not the best plan that suits the client's needs and economic situation. The article lists the following:</p><p>Instead of searching the marketplace to locate the best coverage, and the most favourable terms, for the clients sitting across from them, many autonomous brokers and agents steer all their business to a minimal number of insurance companies, say insurance executives in an interview for The Globe. They favour the ones that reimburse them most generously in commissions, bonuses and perks, such as those all-expenses-paid trips.</p><p>Unfortunately, this may only too often be true of most brokers operating in Canada, LSM Insurance has throughout its history operated from a higher moral level. Our brokers expect very comparable bonuses from every insurer with whom we work, so there is no motivation to prefer one carrier to another except our clients' best interests. Brokers who only work with a handful of carriers are more biased towards those particular companies. As client-oriented as we are, LSM is contracted with over 15 insurers.</p><p>LSM is perpetually in contact with all of those insurers. LSM finds itself very close to those underwriters to ensure we are qualified to pair every customer with the right insurance carrier for their unique situation. This philosophy adds up with LSM's one-of-a-kind specialization in those clients that are hard to insure (i.e. people with lifestyle or health issues which prevent them from qualifying for conventional insurance plans). That, in turn, has enabled LSM Insurance to eliminate the apparent conflict of interest affecting the rest of the insurance industry in Canada.</p><p>However, if scepticism still permeates your thoughts, check out our <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/about/testimonials.html">Testimonials Page</a> featuring honest feedback from our clients. This neat assortment of opinions will give you a decent idea of the kind of service we have been providing to our clients over the many years we are in the insurance brokerage business. LSM also gives our clients the opportunity to put their destiny in their own hands using our many handy interactive utilities (such as our <a target="_blank" href="http://lsminsurance.ca/calculators/canada/needs-analysis.html">Needs Analysis Calculator</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://lsminsurance.ca/calculators/canada/irr-calculator">Internal Rate-of-Return Calculator</a>), which add more precision to the buying process.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-81850392002083128272010-12-22T04:43:00.000-08:002010-12-22T04:44:37.120-08:00BMO Life: A.M. Best Credit Ratings<p>Lately, there has been more good news for an insurance company among the many grim economic articles as A.M. Best Co. did not change the financial strength evaluation of BMO Life Assurance Company (BMO Life), reinforcing the rating at an “A”, which stands for “Excellent”. Similarly, BMO Life’s issuer credit rating also remained at an “a”. Even better, the projections for BMO Life were assessed as stable, with regards to all the Company's reports and other information available on Bank of Montreal and BMO Life.</p><p>BMO Life is a subsidiary of Bank of Montreal (BMO). BMO Life is not the only insurer owned by BMO, but is a major one for that matter, serving specific subsets of the insurance market. Hence, analysts rely on BMO to support BMO Life in case of any contingent financial issues. During the recent financial crisis, BMO Life was significantly harmed in the instabilities within the highly competitive insurance marketplace and needs to recover from all the monetary and brand-esteem losses.</p><p>BMO offers a selection of insurance products, ranging from universal life through individual life insurance , term life, whole life, critical illness, <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca" target="_blank">guaranteed issue life insurance</a> to structured settlements and annuities. Its policy assortment is quite specific and thus preferred by certain subsets of the clientele, which may be considered its individual advantage. BMO Life offers its plans mainly using an agent network originally established by AIG Life.</p><p>In 2009, Bank of Montreal (BMO) decided to take over AIG Life Insurance Company of Canada. The company was transformed into a new brand of BMO Life Assurance Company, but its business model remained chiefly intact. Financial analysts seem to have welcomed this acquisition well, since AIG Life/BMO Life from now on can count on a stable and large parent supporting it.</p><p>The BMO group has another life insurer: BMO Life Insurance. This entity is unconnected to BMO Life Assurance Company, has its own network of agents and history, but exists within the same family. Find more information on <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/bmo-life-insurance" target="_blank">BMO Life Assurance Company</a> on our website.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-53749375514344942632010-12-21T08:24:00.000-08:002010-12-21T08:26:44.374-08:00Insurance and the Climate<p>“Since when do insurance companies worry about climate research?” you might ask. If so, you should ask RSA Insurance Group, a global insurer headquartered in the UK. RSA in Canada operates mainly in marine insurance, but the message their behaviour is demonstrating is will have significant effects across the whole insurance field, even for <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/" target="_blank">non-medical life insurance</a>.</p><p>RSA recently announced an official alliance with the World Wildlife Fund world-wide. The mutual synergy upon which this relationship is based qualifies as both “the right thing” as well as a business interest. It is simply a win-win situation.</p><p>If anyone can actually express a climate change in probability figures, then it must be insurance analysts. However, insurers cannot always work out what lies ahead specifically enough. Following the floods and droughts around the world, insurance companies bumped into considerable claims and thus had to pay unexpected compensations on those of their insurance products that are linked with the state of temperature, weather, and climate. This signalled to them that they were unable to assess their products’ riskiness accurately. And risk being the elementary notion underlying the entire <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/">insurance business</a>, something had to be changed.</p><p>Thus, this experience and the general involvement of RSA with marine insurance were what prompted RSA to look for information, opinions and support at WWF. They are interested in the developments of the global environment - those that WWF examines so intently. WWF performs numerous analyses in order to understand animals whose life is largely influenced by the smallest changes in the climate. Through helping WWF to do what they are best at, the RSA group will benefit from more trustworthy forecasts. Thus, the insurer will be able to ascertain its risk better, charge for its products more adequately and steer clear of disproportionate outlays.</p><p>Because the enhanced estimates should be publicly available, i.e., to every other insurer, the effect on competition between companies is going to be minimal. At most, more perfect competition will press down policy prices for insurees. On the other hand, wild species will welcome the <a href="http://www.wwfrsapartners.com/" target="_blank">partnership between RSA and WWF</a> anyhow.</p><p>Lots of businesses are learning that an eco-conscious business model may not only save them substantial amounts of money, but also please their customers along with the public in one fell swoop. The spirit of this mind-set shift can be sensed around global enterprises such as Sony Corporation, which only uses recycled paper for all administrative work, PricewaterhouseCoopers, also contemplating a global change towards more sustainable offices, and <a href="http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/03/05/adobes-energy-efficient-headquarters-saves-12-million-annually/" target="_blank">Adobe</a> winning awards for very small-footprint office buildings using modern technologies numerous times.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-64503848754856448812010-12-13T04:39:00.000-08:002010-12-13T04:53:46.318-08:00LSM Articles SelectionLSM Insurance produces tonnes of great articles and we don't want them to be lost in the deep valleys of Web. Therefore, we prepared this list of the best insurance, financial and other articles from October and November.<br /><br /><a href="http://lorne-s-marr.xanga.com/734745763/about-insurance-dividends/">Insurance Dividends</a><br />Can insurance bring any dividends? Few tips for investors.<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Standard-Life-Insurance-Policy">Standard life insurance policy review</a></div><div>One of the popular life insurance policies on Canadian market. Is it worth the money?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://canadalifeinsurance.blogsome.com/2010/10/14/transamerica-life-credit-ratings-2010/">Transamerica's credit rating</a></div><div>Closely followed case of Transamerica's ratings.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm/2095018?articleid=2095018">Great West Trial story</a></div><div>One of the biggest trials related to insurance in Canada reached its end.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/One+to+Rule+Them+All-a01074147571">European finances - one to rule them all</a></div><div>European financial system is undergoing major change.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm/2067513?articleid=2067513">The Future of Canadian Insurance Industry</a></div><div>We survived the crisis almost untouched. But what comes next?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.wikinut.com/long-term-disability-insurance-explained/1od9dzgy/1l3t4lzd/">Long Term Disability Insurance</a></div><div>What is it? How does it work? Let's learn something about long term care disability insurance policies</div><div><br /></div>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-73516455334640388992010-11-03T09:05:00.000-07:002010-11-03T09:17:42.360-07:00Insurance Companies Lobbying Against New IFRS<p>During the summer, Canadian life insurance companies were lobbying the federal government to move the principles in their favour. In summary, insurance companies demanded an amendment of IFRS which our government is prepared to implement but wants to effect not before 2013.</p><p>The industry believes that the new rules will introduce big volatility to the c/e ratio in annual (quarterly) comparisons. The problem is, not only would this make period-to-period comparisons more challenging, but it would also stop comparisons to statements prepared under the previous rules. </p><p>The people at LSM Insurance think the latter is weedy defense though, as the the industry would most possibly be called for to make new calculations for previous few periods' results applying the new order precisely for the purposes of rational comparability, as is the case with most alternations of the standards. Nonetheless, a shift of rules will surely bring bigger amount of administrative expenses in the time of the change at the bottom end.</p><p>As to the volatility of capital ratios, the FP says that the the companies are pledging for a 2-tier accounting rules that permits capital to be counted based on a various pack of standards than the IFRS. This makes sense since the levels of capital backups are monitored and regulated by the Canadian regulatory body - OSFI. Should there be too big volatility of capital reserves, the insurance companies may be asked to re-check them more often which put off ideal capital management.</p><p>In serious situations, malnourished capital may push OSFI to consider an insurer bankrupt. Today, it is far from possible to find the exact effects of IFRS on c/e volatility, as the new rules are currently being developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Nevertheless, the insurers are believing that 2-tier rules, which is in place in the Anglo-Saxon countries will erase any such worries.</p><p>An additional tool for overcoming future crises the insurance industry might use is <a href="http://lsminsurance.blogspot.com/2010/09/basel-and-canadian-banks.html">embedded contingent capital</a> mentioned in a previous article.</p><p>PS: Don't forget to check out our new website on <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/" target="_blank">no medical life insurance</a>.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-89550486309095291632010-10-04T07:02:00.000-07:002010-10-14T07:04:49.089-07:00Boosted Ratings of Transamerica Life Canada<p>As reported in the August Issue of the Insurance Journal, S&P recently improved its counter-party credit and financial strength ratings for <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/transamerica-life-canada" target="_blank">Transamerica Life Canada</a> from “BBB” to “BBB+.” The outlook as an insurance company is positive as of now.</p><p>Similarly, in July, AM Best changed Transamerica Life Canada to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B++, which equates to “Good”. AM Best also reclassed the prospects to positive from negative and confirmed the insurer’s credit rating at BBB+. More good news for Transamerica clients and prospective customers, Transamerica Life has slashed its term plan prices from September 20.</p><p>To learn more about <a href="http://nomedicallifeinsurance.ca/" target="_blank">guaranteed issue life insurance</a>, visit our specialized website.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-33899778063605696862010-09-29T15:30:00.000-07:002010-09-29T15:39:39.786-07:00Doctors Protest Against Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Ontario<p>Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a sport with about a 100-year-long modern tradition. The rules of the fight allow a selection of techniques to take place in every match. Thus, martial artists with various skillsets are able to compete in the ring. MMA is a full-contact sport with roots with roots as far as the ancient Rome.</p><p>Lately, medical professionals had something to say about this on the Canadian Medical Association’s general annual meeting in Niagara Falls. The majority of the doctors voiced their belief that the sport should not be legal. They simply argue that MMA is a dangerous sport with a large probability of injuries – a lot more significant than in boxing for instance.</p><p>Another parallel institution which lately voiced worries regarding MMA was the British Medical Association . Since early 2009, they are actively campaigning against this sport in Britain (for more info read BMA’s <a href="http://www.bma.org.uk/health_promotion_ethics/sports_exercise/BoxingPU.jsp" target="_blank">entire statement here</a>). They, too, argue that the sport often gets excessively brutal.</p><p>As explained by Dr. Ian Gillespie, the president of BCMA, “MMA fighting, like boxing, is distinct from many other sports in that the basic intent of the fighter is to cause harm in order to incapacitate his or her opponent.” He adds that the “various techniques […] aren’t limited to punching, and there may be the presence of fewer safety rules.”</p><p>WatchKalibRun.com is a portal reporting on MMA events and news. In <a href="http://www.watchkalibrun.com/2009/1/23/734456/british-medical-associatio" target="_blank">an article on this topic</a>, it expresses their own opinions on the arguments of the British Medical Association. They mention that any available data is extremely limited and link to an American study finding that injury and knock-out rates in Mixed Martial Arts are comparable to those of other such activities.</p><p><a href="http://www.thespec.com/sports/article/251551--two-sports-two-perspectives" target="_blank">The Hamilton Spectator interviewed</a> two experts from the field – a fighter and a coach – idea about the issue. Less efficient protective equipment which makes fighting more dangerous is a large concern. Also, the referees are less specific plus any regulations are looser overall. Unlike in box, the strikes are not aimed solely at the opponent’s head and the body in MMA, which will easily cause more kinds of injuries. To be fair, it may still make head injuries much less probable. Both experts are calling for a unification of procedures across Canada instead of keeping different regulations for each province.</p><p>Why do the Canadian doctors step up now? It is because only now (in August), Ontario province government finally agreed to legalize MMA in the province. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Warrior One (W1) are the two largest organizations. They already have business strategies aiming to develop activities in lucrative locations in the province. Ontario Premier Mr. Dalton McGuinty finally stepped out of his comfort zone to sign the law, but wants close scrutiny of all events and all the rules, according to <a href="http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/08/14/15024406.html" target="_blank">Toronto Sun</a>.</p><p>Doctors are unhappy that there are seldom trained professionals at the matches. They say that even if there were, it would be against their essential principles for them to passively watch the ongoing injuries and just let them pass. Traditional martial artists are displeased that the sport is in its essence countering the original values of martial arts which are most importantly respect, discipline, self-control and courtesy.</p><p><a href="http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20100826/mma-doctor-100826/" target="_blank">As reported by CTV</a>, Dr. Shelby Karpman warns that since MMA is already very popular, outlawing it would cause that the fights take place illegally. Also, health supervision would not be enforceable and thus the artists could count on substandard care, which translates into even more danger.</p><p>That said, it seems reasonable to conclude that if the sport cannot be banned, it should definitely be officially regulated and any rules should be obeyed without exceptions. This means that there should be reasonable medical authority present with appropriate competencies; licensing, insurance and preventive measures should be in place during every match.</p><p>As I am sure you are wondering: Extreme sports such as MMA are treated as a special case for life insurance. Not every company will want to sell you coverage if you perform this or a similar extreme sport, and those who will are going to ask a much higher price. The final price is going to depend on the nature of the sport you do. A fighter should pay utmost attention to any exclusions and caveats in the policy and should not sign up for any but licensed events. Illegal fighting may mar your chances of ever successfully making a claim on your policy.</p><p>However, <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/" target="_blank">life insurance</a> is not going to suffice to cover all expenses associated with extreme sports. A fighter will most probably cause harm to his or her counterpart and that will make him or her responsible for the reimbursements. In addition to the host of the match, each fighter should have liability insurance of his or her own. As with life insurance, with liability insurance it holds true that the fight must be part of a licensed and supervised venue and is limited by any exclusions in the plan.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-25619940810201654162010-09-28T16:15:00.000-07:002010-09-28T16:21:58.289-07:00A Brief Overview of Canadian Long-term Care Insurance<p>There may come a time in our later years when we simply are unable to live on our own. If you read the statistics, 50% of Canadians are expected to need long-term care after 75. With increased longevity and the aging of the population, it is advisable that we sort out these matters as soon as possible. In this article, we are going to give you an overview of long-term care insurance, as well as briefly describe policies from three different Canadian insurance companies to help you compare.</p><p><b>What is long-term care insurance?</b><br/>If you can’t do at least two of the following six activities:</p><ul><li>dressing,</li><li>eating,</li><li>toileting,</li><li>bathing,</li><li>maintaining continence,</li><li>and transferring (e.g. from a bed to a chair)</li></ul><p>on your own (the exact activity list depending on your individual policy), then you qualify for your benefit from long-term care insurance. Your policy will then pay you the agreed tax-free benefit on a weekly basis to help you get suitable assistance.</p><p>Long-term care coverage helps protect the resources and health of not only you, but also your children who would have to invest extra resources to provide for your needs. Unlike in Life Insurance, Long-term Care plans do not normally prefer non-smokers, nor do they distinguish between females and males.</p><p>Read here if you want to find out more about <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/tips/critical-disability/long-term-care" target="_blank">long-term care insurance vocabulary and definitions</a>.</p><p><b>How to choose your long-term care insurance policy?</b><br/>What to ask about your long-term care insurance policy:<br/>You should first check for any exceptions in the policy as to when and how you get to your benefit. Then, try to estimate how much your care may cost you and for how long. You may choose to opt for a policy delay (elimination period) which will let you pay for your care from your own pocket for a chosen time before the policy kicks in, which makes the policy cheaper. Furthermore, see if the policy offers you guaranteed premiums (i.e. level amounts) and for how long. Examine any policy riders and add-ons of interest to you and don’t forget to consult your choices with an independent broker.</p><p>Interested in more details? See <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian/long-term-care" target="_blank">Shopping for a long-term care insurance policy</a>.</p><p><b>Comparing insurers’ offers</b><br/>You can buy Long-term Care insurance from Ontario Medical Association/Sun Life Insurance, Penncorp Insurance Company, Manulife Financial, RBC Insurance, Desjardins or Blue Cross. Let’s briefly look at a few of them in turn.</p><p>Ontario Medical Association (OMA) offers a long-term Care insurance policy to you and your family members 21 to 80 years of age. The policy is in fact underwritten by Sun Life Financial. The prices are the same as those of Sun Life’s plans. The policy has a rolling 5-year premium guarantee and offers a possibility of no elimination period if you need facility care. The plan is receipt-based. Premiums are lower for men.</p><p>Penncorp offers a so-called One Step Long-term Care, which pays the benefit already as soon as you have one incapacity, including cognitive impairment, which allows the insured to enjoy the broadest possible coverage. This is the plan’s specialty in Canada. One Step Long-term Care Plan by Penncorp is available to individuals aged 30 to 70. This plan doesn’t have a premium guarantee on the policy’s premiums.</p><p>Manulife Financial is trying to bank on simplicity. Manulife’s policy is called Living Care and the client is merely required to fill in an application form and undergo an interview. This is conducted by telephone if she or he is less than 70, and it should be conducted in person if he or she is 71 or older. If you are older, the insurer may get in touch with your doctor to verify your medical information. Manulife does not require laboratory exams during a long-term care application process. The policy is not receipt-based and it has a minimum elimination period of 90 days, which is longer than most competitors.</p><p>At Desjardins, the rates are a bit more expensive than competition’s. However, you have the money at your own disposal and don’t have to provide any receipts. Premiums are guaranteed for the first five years of the plan and favouring males.</p><p>You surely see that it isn’t easy to understand all of the insurance offerings in the market. Ask a broker you trust to help you out.</p><p>To find out more info about long-term care insurance, please check out our <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/life-insurance-canada/2009/12/long-term-care-consumer-report" target="_blank">Long-term Care Consumer Report</a>.</p><p>Searching for more details? Please see our enumeration of <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/life-insurance-canada/2009/10/random-facts-about" target="_blank">Interesting Facts About Long-term Care Insurance</a>.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-51571236068286169042010-09-25T07:55:00.000-07:002010-09-25T08:05:58.369-07:00Standard Life and Their Insurance Policies<p>I would like to present to you several Canadian insurance companies in a few short articles, and I’d like to commence with Standard Life. Now, let me examine Standard Life’s Term and Universal Life plans.</p><p><b>The Universal Life policy:</b><br>You may apply for the Universal Life up to your 81st birthday. Perspecta - as this policyis being traded - has several nice things to offer, including multiple death benefit, flexible monthly premiums as well as cost of insurance options.</p><p>The Perspecta investment accounts include the following: managed accounts, indexed accounts (including Strategic Asset Allocation accounts), term deposits, and one daily interest account. What is more, Perspecta has a Shelter Optimizer and Account Optimizer, which maximize the return from premium investments by maintaining their tax-exempt status. The policy features client bonus payments in later policy years to further enhance value accumulation.</p><p>Applicants can add the following add-ons (and more) to the policy: 10 and 20-year term riders which are renewable and convertible, children’s term riders, critical illness riders for adults, as well as children, accidental death benefit, guaranteed insurability benefit and a benefit which relieves you from paying premiums in case of a disability.</p><p>On the downside, <a href="http://lsminsurance.ca/canadian-life-insurance-companies/standard-life-assurance" target='_blank'>Standard Life insurance</a> (which used to have some of the cheapest Universal Life plans out there) came with an increase in its pricing in 2005. Now, some age groups will be forced to switch to other insurance providers because of this increase. On the plus side, Standard Life is one of the handful companies in Canada to offer preferred rates on both their Term and Universal Life policy.</p><p>As an illustration, a 45-year-old non-smoking male will sign up to $211.95 monthly at least, as this is the minimum payment that keeps the policy alive.</p><p><b>Term Life:</b><br>Standard Life offers two term life policies in its portfolio - Term 10 and Term 20. You can sign up for the Term 10 policy at any time between age 18 and 70, Term 20 ends at 65. The plans are renewable to age 85 and they can be converted up to age 65. The Term policies also offer many different riders which are like those coming with the Universal Life policy.</p><p>The applicant can also decide to sign up for an individual or first-to-die benefit (e.g. with a spouse).<br>Those in good health and have a good family health history may be able to qualify for a preferred rate. As a bonus, if you are extremely healthy, you might qualify for a super preferred rate! On the downside, these term life plans are not available at face amounts under $100~000. This can prove crucial for senior applicants in case they are a constrained budget.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965308014652275134.post-79924711837155106432010-09-24T13:26:00.000-07:002010-09-24T13:33:28.200-07:00Basel and Canadian Banks<p>Embedded contingent capital. This may sound like a term from another planet, but it is a model which may become the reality for our banks. The Basel Committee listened to Canadian advice and now considers implementing this new regulatory feature in a hope to help preserve the stability of the world’s banks. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he was “pleased” Canada’s advice was being seriously considered.</p><p>The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision was created in 1974. This institution which unites the ten nations’ central bank governors. The committee gathers four times a year to discuss recommendations, guidelines and best practices that the members and other states should implement in their home legal system. The committee’s decisions do not directly influence the national markets, yet they are mostly obeyed since uniform law helps ensure that multinational banks are not required to use their own compliance management, which decreases the operating costs.</p><p>These new proposed rules redefine the accounting principles regarding banks’ debt, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.financialpost.com/Basel+watchdogs+back+Canada+banking+scheme/3417943/story.html">Financial Times reported</a>. Under usual circumstances, debt (whether in the form of bonds or loans) is accounted for as a liability of the bank towards its creditors. Creditors have an advantage over shareholders: in case a company goes bankrupt, creditors are satisfied before any owners. In addition, the debtor-creditor relationship is traditionally more systematic and the creditor can expect to recoup back the face value of the debt at the end of the lending term. Regular debt is therefore safer than equity and thus cheaper too.</p><p>In the future, banks could make use of the option of transforming some of their debt to equity if another financial crisis strikes. Such a conversion will have to be ordered by the federal government and will allow banks to expand their capital levels instantly. More capital should allow the bank to withstand for a longer time – hopefully during the whole of the crisis. Therefore, the term “embedded contingent capital” is defined as capital embedded in the bank’s debt and contingent upon the financial situation of the bank or the entire economy. The government must initiate and approve the transformation.</p><p>In addition to improved banking sector stability, the newly proposed rules are meant to provoke greater scrutiny of investors and lenders over the performance of the bank and lending practices. As the effect of the greater risk they are facing, lenders will have an incentive to monitor their banks, the Basel Committee thinks.</p><p>But is it really that important of an argument? <a target="_blank" href="http://www.linkedin.com/companies/lsm-insurance">LSM Insurance</a> argues that greater incentives are a positive notion. But will they be backed by appropriate legislation ensuring heightened transparency of the banking operations so that there are tools for investors to actually observe their banks effectively? Plus, even today, investors are interested in the well-being of their banks. The change may add additional pairs of eyes interested in the matter, but the added benefit is still debatable.</p><p>LSM Insurance believes that the major implication of this upcoming law for the banks themselves will be their ability to acquire financing in an extra way that is cheaper than equity but a bit more expensive than regular debt. That is if they can find a market to sell it to.</p><p>Debt in the form of loans and bonds normally obliges the debtors to pay back in regular agreed upon instalments – annuities – according to an agreed-upon payment schedule. The face value of the debt is always paid back to the lender when the debt matures. Equity, on the other hand, implies ownership, including voting and other rights. The disadvantage is that it is up to the company’s management to set the dividends, or whether there are any at all. What is more, shareowners cannot expect the face value of their investment to be returned at the end of the term and the only way they can recoup the money they invested is to re-sell their equity to another investor.</p><p>If Canadian banks find a way to take advantage this borrowing facility “of the third kind”, their cost of capital will increase. In return, they will have an interesting safety measure in place to resort to in case worse comes to worst. Of course, there must be a market and means of valuation for such an instrument, which is still a large question mark in a market as small as the Canadian one Nevertheless, the banks seem to expect that the hassle is going to be worth it eventually. The reassuring factor is that this feature can only be applied upon federal government approval and is not the decision of the banks themselves.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67Q46A20100827">According to Reuters</a>, the banks in Canada say they are ready to embrace the new rules. From their current position, they want to continue in their successful post-crisis growth. Banks and analysts are forecasting acquisitions and mergers in Canada and abroad. Our banks will want to expand their presence especially in the European and US markets.</p>Chantal Marrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02049378555576512759noreply@blogger.com0