Insurance & Investments

It's inevitable that we're all going to die at some point. Although it’s not the most pleasant of thoughts and not something we should dwell on, we should think about it long enough to get our estate in order. Unfortunately, estate planning is not enough of a priority for most Canadians.¹

According to surveys conducted by the Life Insurance Market Research Association (LIMRA), historically, the public opinion of the life insurance sales person has not been positive.

In fact, in the narrative portion of the surveys, where respondents were asked to describe the typical insurance sales person, they often used words such as “pushy” and “untrustworthy.”  

However, there was also good news in these surveys. Respondents who had a relationship with an insurance sales person invariably added the words, “ … but mine is different". They also added phrases such as my insurance person “is a pillar of the community,” or “is knowledgeable and helpful, and I would trust him or her with my life”.  But mine is different.

A recent survey from the Financial Planning Standards Council reported that 51% of women and 40% of men are losing sleep due to financial worries.  Life insurance may be an important part of the solution, but many Canadians don’t feel insurance companies are on their side.

To help demystify purchasing life insurance, knowing the right questions to ask is important.

Having life insurance as part of an employee benefits package at work is a great benefit.  

Many companies pay for a fixed amount of life insurance for their employees and also allow employees to purchase more coverage at a low cost and with no medical exam.  As a result, a significant number of Canadians have life insurance through their employer¹.

It may be something we don’t want to think about but it doesn’t have to be difficult.

You make at least a hundred different decisions every day.  There are quick and easy ones: What time to wake your kids up for school? Which food is least likely to be snubbed by your family? Then there are more challenging ones:  Which school your child should attend? Is 12 to young for a cell phone?  

Then there are difficult decisions that we struggle with, and that can lead to a catatonic state of procrastination.

Financial decisions top the list of items that people put off making decisions on¹, particularly when it comes to purchasing life insurance.  The truth is, it may be something we don’t want to think about but it doesn’t have to be difficult.

The word “estate” most likely drums up pictures of affluent individuals like the Bill Gates or Warren Buffets of the world, but whether you think it or not, you have an estate.  Your estate is comprised of everything you own, from your car, home, bank account and investments, to your grandmothers wedding rings you inherited and your personal collection of classic movies.  

No matter how large or how modest, everyone who owns property has an estate and something in common - you can’t take it with you when you die.

When you start thinking about your obligations, responsibilities and priorities, it’s only natural to think about whether you have done everything you possibly can to protect your family if the unexpected happens.  

Life insurance is a tool that can help provide your family with financial protection.  

The early roots of life insurance in Canada can be traced back over two centuries.  However, the concept of critical illness insurance – a product to help people cover expenses associated with critical illness – was not developed until the late 1990s.

Set fire to your hair, poke a stick at a grizzly bear…. These are certainly dumb ways to die but the Dumbest Way to Die is without Life Insurance.™  This is the theme of the latest consumer advertising campaign from Empire Life and it is a very different approach for an insurance company to use to encourage Canadians to start thinking about life insurance.