Art Melo

Liston to insurance advisors: Be detectives

Careful information gathering, basic medical research, an effective interviewing technique and thorough preparation for a follow-up expedite the long term care insurance (LTC) underwriting process. Denise Liston, vice-president of underwriting products and services at Life Plans Inc., which provides insurers with risk management programs, was a featured speaker at the LTC Conference in Mississauga last […]

By Art Melo | October 27, 2009

3 min read

Industry

Making a strong case for LTC

There’s a way to successfully integrate long term care insurance (LTC) into an advisor’s practice, but it takes some work. Client segmentation, credentialed staff, carefully scripted conversations and structured meetings all help to effectively integrate long term care insurance into an advisor’s practice, according to Greg Pearson, insurance specialist at Meckelborg Financial Group Inc. in […]

By Art Melo | October 23, 2009

3 min read

Industry

Insurers still feeling crisis’ aftershock

Canadian life insurance companies took fewer hits than their American counterparts during the financial crisis but the market convulsion continues to influence their near-term outlook. Changing consumer attitudes and reduced income from investments and fees remain a challenge, even as the crisis lets up, according to expert panelists speaking earlier today at the A. M. […]

By Art Melo | September 10, 2009

3 min read

Industry

Avoiding estate planning traps

Advisors can steer clear of estate planning pitfalls by using the will drafting process to avoid a collision of competing objectives between beneficiaries of the testator (the individual whose estate will be divided after decease). For the advisor, this means working with the client-testator to anticipate and prevent potential problems that could occur after death, […]

By Art Melo | November 2, 2005

3 min read

Industry

Transamerica asks for input from advisors

(April 4, 2005) Transamerica Life is looking at speeding up the underwriting process and using principal-protected notes in its universal life products. Advisors were asked to weigh in on the proposed changes during a webcast held last week. Insurance advisors participating in the 90-minute session were given the chance to influence insurance policy features and […]

By Art Melo | April 4, 2005

2 min read

Industry

American author hot on commodities

(February 14, 2005) Commodity-rich Canada will produce profits for savvy investors in the years to come, says U.S. author and professor Jim Rogers, who was visiting Toronto last week. “Canada is one of the great natural-resource-based economies of the world,” he enthused at a presentation hosted by Tricycle Asset Management, noting that the current commodities […]

By Art Melo | February 14, 2005

3 min read

Industry

Advising elderly clients requires extra diligence, lawyer says

(November 8, 2004) Looking over his client files, the veteran advisor saw potential traps that might have gone unnoticed by an unwary practitioner. A wealthy widowed client with no children had just turned 90. “The lady is very sharp for her age but I’ve noticed a definite decline in her edge in the last couple […]

By Art Melo | November 8, 2004

3 min read

Industry

Disability insurance making a comeback, brokers told

(November 5, 2004) Young working Canadians are starting to express a renewed interest in disability insurance, a product whose popularity has been on the decline in recent years. Keith Malkin, living benefits consultant at Canada Life, says fewer advisors sell disability insurance than 10 years ago, partly due to the enthusiasm over critical illness products. […]

By Art Melo | November 5, 2004

2 min read

Industry

Sandwich generation seeking investment options, expert says

(November 3, 2004) Joseph Coughlin says he sees the future and that independent insurance brokers have several strategies available for prospering as it unfolds. An aging population has led to “disruptive demographics” and the “disruptive consumer,” explained Coughlin, who is an expert on aging and the founding director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. […]

By Art Melo | November 3, 2004

3 min read

Industry

Advisors explain why they’re opting out of mutual funds

(September 28, 2004) Although the mutual fund industry staunchly defends the fund-only registration category, there is evidence that some advisors, particularly insurance specialists, are letting their mutual fund licences lapse. During its fiscal year ending last March, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) issued 5,498 new mutual fund registrations but counted 7,517 discontinued registrations, some due […]

By Art Melo | September 28, 2004

4 min read

Industry

Black case can provide lessons for advisors, experts say

(September 13, 2004) Although allegations that Conrad Black and his associates siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from Hollinger International for personal expenses may seem far removed from the daily lives of financial advisors, there are a few important lessons to be learned from the messy saga, experts say. While few advisors could imagine spending […]

By Art Melo | September 13, 2004

3 min read

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