Use Marijuana? Game Changing Update

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In the world of insurance, Sun Life has made a monumental, game changing announcement in regards to marijuana usage and is the first insurer to do so:

“Clients who use marijuana will no longer be charged smoker rates, unless they also use tobacco.”

Time and time, again, clients who recreationally use pot have insisted they are not smokers; or at least not smokers in the traditional sense. However, in the eyes of all insurance companies, they were still considered a smoker. Smoked a hundred joints a year? Smoker. Five joints a year? Smoker. One joint a year? Smoker. Consumed marijuana in various forms of baking? Yep, you guessed it, smoker. As a smoker, the premiums you pay are 30-50% higher than those who are considered non-smokers.

What’s led to the change in decision? Given the latest medical and health research studies and impact of marijuana use, Sun Life has decided to update their guidelines, accordingly. It’s highly possible that the other major insurance company’s will follow Sun Life’s lead. Given the new Federal Government’s plans to legalize marijuana, it will be interesting to see what other insurance changes transpire moving forward.

Have an existing Sun Life policy that you pay smoker rates on due to marijuana use? You can apply to have the smoker status removed, provided you do not consume tobacco products and are in good health/ there has been no negative change in health.

Have questions? Contact me anytime.

Make it a great day!

Ryan Schade
204-292-6585
ryan@rlsinsurance.ca

Here’s Why You Need Critical Illness Insurance (But Maybe Your Parents or Grandparents Didn’t)

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One thing that makes critical illness insurance unique is that it was not created by an insurance company, but by a world-famous heart surgeon, Dr. Marius Barnard. He was part of the team, headed by his brother, Christian Barnard, that successfully performed the first human heart transplant.

Dr. Barnard was practicing medicine in South Africa, and saw that, with the changes taking place in medicine, when a critical illness struck he was able to heal his patient physically, but the financial stress that accompanied cancer, heart attack and stroke was killing his patients.

Continue reading →

Insuring Children – Why It Makes Sense

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When you think about life’s most precious gift, your children/ grandchildren top the list. We would do anything for them; especially, if it involves giving them an advantage in life. Aside from the ‘occasional’ temper tantrum, creation of spectacular messes and stalling when it’s time for bed, they definitely bring a tremendous sense of love, pride, joy, and infinite laughter to families. What doesn’t often top the list; however, is the idea of insuring them. Wait!  Some of you may not want to think about such an idea, but bare with me, you may want to be in the know on this one. Lately, I have been doing a lot more life and critical illness insurance on children; more than usual. Through my conversations with many a parent and grandparent, the common sentiments expressed upon learning of the benefits of insuring children were that of gratitude. Most were pleased to have learned about the benefits and that they had the ability to do something great for their precious little ones. Most even wished that their parents would have done the same when they were children.The reality is, their parents probably didn’t know such a thing were even possible, or like many parents I talk to, were uncomfortable discussing the subject. This got me thinking, how many others out there are similarly unaware, or unwilling to discover the significant benefits of insuring children, simply because they didn’t know, or didn’t want to talk about it? The reality is, it could quite possibly be one of the best kept secrets in planning your child’s future. Continue reading →

Types of Life Insurance: Term & Permanent

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Did you know there are two main types of life insurance? Yes, it’s true! Before I joined the insurance profession, I thought all life insurance was the same. True, they all designed to pay a tax-free lump sum of money in the event of death; however, the two types are considerably different. To provide some clarification, I figured I would take a few moments to list some of the differences. I trust you will find this beneficial! Enjoy!
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Mortgage Insurance… Really Your Best Option??

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Is mortgage insurance the best option to pay off my mortgage if I die? I get asked this question a lot. Compelled to help inform others who may be wondering the same thing, or those who may be completely unaware that coverage they have may notice  protect them. In short, the answer is, no. Let’s quickly look at just one basic example, among many others, as to why. The rest of the reasons are listed in a separate chart that I created below.

Consider that there’s two types of coverage options for you and your family to completely eliminate your mortgage should you pass away before your mortgage is paid off in full.

  • Coverage Option A:
    –  The bank owns the policy.
    –  The bank is automatically the beneficiary of the policy (who receives the money from the policy).
    –  However, you pay the premiums. (Keep in mind, the bank is the owner of the policy)
  • Coverage Option B:
    –  You own the policy.
    –  You choose the beneficiary of the policy (who receives the money from the policy).
    –  You pay the premiums for your own policy.

 
Given that both options are intended to pay off your mortgage should you pass away, which of the two coverages listed above would you choose?  Continue reading →

What’s The Best Way For Your Family / Business, To Payoff A Mortgage, Or Short-Term Debt, If You Die Too Soon?

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“Ryan, what’s the best way to pay off my mortgage if I die too soon?”

Arguably, that is one of the most common questions I get as an insurance advisor. The short answer – use term life insurance to pay off any mortgages and/ or short-term debts. Please keep in mind I am keeping this post basic and high-level.

What are included – personal & business?

  • Mortgages (home, rental properties, cottage, etc.)
  • Loans (vehicle, other, etc.)
  • Lines of credit
  • Credit card

Why term?
Because these debts are, typically, considered to have a specific endpoint in the future, where the debt is completely paid off. Yes, it’s true, I realize sometimes individuals may choose to not pay off the debt and continue to keep life insurance in place.

How many years does term insurance last?
You choose the number of years. The most common term lengths are 10yrs, 20yrs, 30yrs. Some insurance companies (not all), allow you to choose a specific term length (ex. 23yrs). For example, if you have a 20yr mortgage, you may want a 20yr term life insurance policy.

Is it affordable?
Term insurance is considered to be the most affordable type of life insurance. I once had a colleague explain it to me saying, it was like boxed wine – it’s cheap and does the trick.

Note: Age plays a role in insurance premiums. It is important to note premiums for a 30yr old are much lower than someone who is 60yrs old.

Do my premiums change?
Your premiums remain the same for the period you choose. Ex.) 10yr term means your premiums are the same for 10 years.

Premiums for a 30yr term will be higher than a 10yr term because you are guaranteeing the premiums for a longer period of time.

What happens when my term ends? Does my coverage end?
Your coverage keeps going. Most policies will automatically renew for another period of the same. For example, if you had a 20yr term, it will automatically renew for another 20yrs. There is no need to reapply, or qualify medically. The difference – your new renewal premiums will be much higher than your initial premiums because you are older / closer to your own expiration.

Note: your age will play a factor in how many times your term coverage can renew – most policies will only keep renewing until age 80-90 (depends on the company) because that is how the policy contracts are designed. Remember, they are generally intended to payoff short-term debts and to replace income. We’ll get into the replacement income part in another post; today, we are just focusing on short-term debts.

Can I cancel my term life insurance anytime?
Yes, you can cancel anytime. You are not locked-in. There is no penalty to cancel.

Are there any additional benefits to term life insurance?
Yes, most term life insurance policies have a built-in option that allows you to switch/ change your term coverage into permanent life insurance without the need to reapply, or qualify medically. This is incredibly important/ valuable; especially, if you have a negative change in health, where you may not be able to medically qualify for life insurance.

What is permanent life insurance?
We will get into that in another post. The main, important thing to remember is, if you want life insurance to last your entire lifetime, you want some level of permanent life insurance.


I trust that gave you an insight into term life insurance – what it’s used for and how it works. Contact me with any questions, always happy to help out.

Ryan
ryan@rlsinsurance.ca
IG: @rlsinsurance

New Things Coming… End Off 2020 With A Bang!?

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Hey friends, been a while since my last blog post, I know! Had been meaning to do this for a while! So how did I get to this point of writing? Committed to several advisors, recently, that I would start posting, again, or I owed each of them $25 Amazon gift cards. True story. Nevertheless, I had been working on new ideas / topics to share with you all. Wanted to change things up this time around. Rather than always having longer, drawn out blog posts (which still do have tremendous value), I feel it’s important to start to incorporate new and different content styles. Several advisors and I would often talk about, why can’t we make insurance cool, again?

So, here’s the plan:

  • Short & sweet text pieces / video clips that are easily digestible.
  • More client stories (anonymously, of course).
  • Longer format videos – with the occasional guest appearance.
  • Topics of general interest that make me….. well, me!

Side note, I feel most content will be in a more raw format vs overly produced. Many provided feedback saying they preferred that style. Personally, I feel it captures the essence of the individual best.

Alright, now that we have covered the basics, are there question that you have in regards to life / critical illness / long-term disability insurance? Or do you have any topics that you want covered, specifically? Send me an email! Use me as a resource and I’ll do my absolute best to answer, or provide my input. If it is out of my area of expertise, I will find the answer; or put you in contact with those who know best! Even if you have a question that isn’t insurance related, ask away – I know a lot of things and a lot of people!

Anyway, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading.

Stay awesome and be well!

Ryan
ryan@rlsinsurance.ca