New policy blends CI, DI, life

Manulife today announced its new Synergy insurance product, which combines life insurance, critical illness insurance and disability insurance in one package—with one application, one payment and one plan to manage.

“For many of us, the combined risk of disability, illness or death before age 65 is significant and the financial impact can be devastating,” said Michael Doughty, executive vice president, Individual Insurance. “While insurance products for these risks are available, up until now consumers have had to make separate buying decisions and purchase stand-alone policies, and the cost was often too expensive. Synergy changes that.”

Synergy provides a “pool of money” for critical illness claims, disability insurance claims and a death claim. Any benefits paid out of the pools for critical illness or disability will reduce the amount of the pool available for the death benefit.

With this unique design, Synergy offers the potential for savings when compared to purchasing three stand-alone policies. For example, a non-smoking, 30-year-old male purchasing $250,000 in Synergy insurance may save as much as 34% over three stand-alone policies.

“With Synergy, we’re helping families address their life insurance needs as well as protect their income should they be unable to work,” said Paul Smith, vice-president, marketing and product development, individual insurance. “We saw a gap in the market and wanted to provide Canadians with a simple, money-saving solution to cover the real, everyday risks they face.”

A recent survey conducted by Manulife Financial showed that:

• Almost 6 in 10 respondents said they were concerned about providing for their family if they were to die.
• Seven in 10 were very or somewhat concerned about the financial impact of being unable to work for an extended period of time because of injury or illness.
• Less than 60% of respondents said they have an individual life insurance plan, only 21% have individual disability insurance, and only 13% indicated that they have individual critical illness protection.
• Altogether, 92% of surveyed Canadians do not have a plan that includes all three products—individual life, disability and critical illness insurance.

“Synergy is easy to understand and talk about for both consumers and advisors,” said Smith. “By introducing Synergy to their clients, advisors can discuss and address three important risk areas together, helping them build a comprehensive protection plan. In that way, Synergy will help spark a whole new conversation about insurance.”

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.