Life Insurance

Life Insurance for Canadians

Life insurance is a crucial step in planning for your future and your family's future. It can fulfill promises and obligations to your family when you are no longer living. One way to think about life insurance is to think of yourself as a cash printing machine that someday will stop forever. How will that affect your family and your financial obligations? Some examples of financial obligations upon death include:

• funeral expenses,
• estate taxes or fees,
• mortgage payments,
• credit card or credit line payments,
• automobile payments,
• long term savings planning for retirement or children's education,
• a surviving spouse and/or dependent's living expenses

Why use a life insurance broker/advisor?

The internet is being used as the main source of information for many topics including life insurance. I can probably assume you are starting to do some research about life insurance, since you are reading our website. All this information can be very confusing, which is where a licensed life insurance broker comes in.

Our main goal is to help uncover what your needs are, what your concerns are, and then educate you on the various options available. This analysis includes both the advantages and disadvantages of the different types. You don't have to do this alone. Peace of mind knowing that things will be taken care of financially in the result of an untimely death is priceless. Bridge Wealth Group and one of our seasoned brokers would be happy to guide you.

Real Life Example: Don't Leave Your Family Exposed

A few years ago a family in Alberta was talking about applying for life insurance. Both the husband and wife were in their 40's and had four beautiful children all under the age of 10. Although they were discussing life insurance, the husband didn't deem it necessary.

The husband was the income earner with an annual income of approx. $125,000 and the wife was a stay at home mom with no income. This couple decided to go on a trip to British Columbia with their children, but this holiday went horribly wrong when they were involved in an automobile accident. The husband was killed, leaving behind his wife and children. The widow, and now single parent, was left with no income, no life insurance, and the burden of debt. How was she supposed to move on and care for the children when they were left with nothing? She would potentially be subject to a life of poverty with herself and her four children.

As much as we hate to hear this type of story, it happens every day. This family could have been protected with life insurance with $1,000,000.00 of coverage for less than $50 per month. This would have easily replaced the husband's income as well as taken care of future education for all four children. It would have given the family hope, time to grieve, and time to plan without worrying about money. Don't let this story be your family's story!

"Calgary-area widow urges others to get life insurance after husband's sudden death" - CBC News

Life Insurance: The Basics

• Term life insurance
• Permanent life insurance
• Combination of permanent and term life insurance
• Guaranteed life insurance
• Children's life insurance

What are the most recognized insurance companies in Canada?

There are many life insurance companies in Canada. Some of the most recognized are: Canada Life Insurance, Manulife Insurance, RBC Insurance, Sun Life Financial, BMO Insurance, TD Insurance, Great West Life Insurance, Humania Assurance, Empire Life Insurance, Assumption Life Insurance, Foresters Life Insurance, Desjardins Insurance, Canada Protection Plan, Specialty Life Insurance, Industrial Alliance Insurance, Equitable Life Insurance and many more. We are associated with many of these companies and can offer you their products and programs.

Life insurance for business owners can be used to:

• ensure the business will have the financial means to pass on to the intended survivor,
• pay off business loans or other debts,
• be used by the other shareholders to purchase the shares back from the deceased family in the most tax effective way.

What steps should I take to get life insurance?

1. Do a complete life insurance needs analysis. This will determine the amount of coverage you should have. Make sure you save it as a pdf or print a copy for your records.
2. If you have a spouse, make sure they are included in the life insurance needs analysis.
3. Determine what range of monthly payment can comfortably fit into your budget.
4. Read our blog for more articles to help you understand the different types of life insurance.
5. Email us with your information and a copy of the insurance needs analysis.

What is your risk of dying before age 65?

This is a hard one for you to know just off the top of your head. There is a life insurance risk calculator from Manulife Insurance which requires years of data to provide an accurate risk assessment. Most of the time we are just going about our lives and not really understanding the risk. Find out your risk.

What if I have life insurance in place but haven't heard from my advisor or I don't understand what I have?

This is not uncommon in the life insurance industry. Just as people change jobs or careers so do life insurance agents and brokers. If this happens to be your situation and you don't know what to do, you can schedule a call with us and we can do a complete review at no charge. For all we know it could be okay. But if not, it is important that you know.

Sometimes your situation has changed and you should be doing a regular review of your insurance to make sure it is still suitable. I know in our family it seems about every four to five years our situation changes.

Life changing moments affect how much life insurance we should have. Examples include:

• Getting a loan to purchase a vehicle.
• Getting a mortgage or home equity line of credit to purchase a house.
• Getting married or living common law.
• Having children.
• Starting a business.

What if I just want to see what some life insurance prices are?

Should you already know how much life insurance you require please complete our quote form or contact us directly to get you started. For some of you that may have life insurance in place and haven't heard from your advisor we are happy to conduct a review to see if you have the proper coverage or protect against escalating costs. Contact us now and we will have one of our advisers contact you shortly. We look forward to helping you understand your life insurance needs!