Living Benefits

Planned giving can help family’s future

(September 2007) In recent years, there has been a significant increase in large, often multi-million dollar donations benefiting universities, health centres and other important institutions. For many, donating the big bucks is great place to put extra cash, but it also provides an opportunity to reinvest substantial tax saving. One area where insurance advisors like […]

By Chris Paterson |September 4, 2007

3 min read

Living benefits go convertible

(June 2007) With the launch of RBC Insurance’s enhanced Critical Illness Recovery Plan, the living benefits market may be getting a taste of a new product trend — bundled policies that offer critical illness and long-term care features. The value of traditional life insurance policies has diminished as more people survive major health crises due […]

By Mark Noble |June 22, 2007

3 min read

MGAs try to better relations with underwriters

(May 2007) Worldsource Insurance Network, one of the country’s largest MGAs, has hired recognized underwriting veteran Leo Penney as a consultant. Penney’s role is to help Worldsource advisors package proposals to insurers on particularly complex and large cases. The arrangement is not a common practice, the company says, but it has become necessary to respond […]

By Mark Noble |May 11, 2007

3 min read

Too much information?

(May 2007) At times, advances in medical science, diagnostics and insurance underwriting are at odds with one another. Consider, for example, cases involving genetic testing or full-body scans. Such tests are becoming more prevalent and can affect an applicant’s ability to obtain insurance at a standard rating for the rest of his or her life. […]

May 1, 2007

3 min read