Your Best Advice Is From An Independent Insurance Broker

Professional, honest advice from a Life Guard Insurance Broker

Your options for buying Life Insurance can be very confusing. Are you looking for qualified, professional advice from a life insurance broker you can trust?

Technology has brought us many ways to buy life insurance in Canada. You can find products and insurance companies via the internet, or deal with bank owned life insurance companies through a call centre. What you really need to ask yourself, “Is the insurance advice I’m getting unbiased and really tailored to my needs?” This article will take a look at the pros and cons of buying life insurance through the various sales channels and where you can get personalized and professional life insurance advice.

Online sales

True online sale sin Canada – via point and click applications, are very limited in Canada, at least for now. Typically these sales are limited to health and dental plans and some forms of critical illness and travel insurance. There is almost no life insurance being sold totally via the internet, as you still need to speak with a licensed life insurance broker/agent and sign some documentation. As a buyer of life insurance you might think that by cutting out the middleman would save you money. Not so. In fact, insurance companies will charge the same premium for a policy bought online as they will for one sold through a face-to-face advisor like a life insurance broker. There are no discounts on premiums in the Canadian marketplace to buy life insurance online.

And with purchasing policies online you do not get personalized service. Most life insurance policies have unique features from different insurance companies. They also offer many riders and benefits that can customize your plan for your unique situation. And there is future planning to consider, where a relationship with an insurance broker can help you change your life insurance policies as your circumstances change. Online quotes and sales of life insurance are typically limited to only term life insurance, and purchasing any permanent life insurance would require you to meet with a life insurance broker.

Call Centre sales

This is similar to buying online as most online life insurance sales have to be completed by a licensed life insurance representative on the phone. Buying life insurance through a call center is also limited to only term life insurance with few optional riders and benefits. Call center sales-people only have a limited selection of products and lack the knowledge or skill to advise on permanent life insurance or various health insurance options.. Call centers typically represent only one insurance company (like a bank owned life insurer) and can offer only those companies products. Often this means clients can’t shop the entire Canadian insurance market for the best rates like they could with a life insurance broker, and are probably paying much more than necessary.

Special Mail-Out offers

A few Canadian life insurance companies offer members of groups, like university alumni or employees of an organization, special mail-out offers for association life and accidental death insurance plans. These policies are all built on group insurance platforms. This means you do not own your policy, but are only a certificate holder as part of the larger group. You would have no rites to convert your policy into permanent insurance in the future. On these plans, premiums will increase every five year as you age, so what seems cheap toady could get very expensive in 10 or 15 years time.

Many people opt for the accidental death coverage because they think it is cheap life insurance. But, it is NOT real life insurance covering all risks. You would have to die from an accident – NOT a sickness – in order to claim any benefit. Some planes also cover accidents in only certain circumstances, such as an airplane or bus crash, in order to get the full death benefit they advertise. Since sickness is the cause for over 85% of all deaths in Canada, it si highly unlikely these policies will ever pay out any benefits at all.

Mortgage/Creditor Insurance from the Bank

When purchasing a house or taking out a loan, your bank or mortgage broker will offer their Mortgage Insurance to protect your family in case you pass away while still paying off your mortgage. THIS IS DANGEROUS LIFE INSURANCE! Even though it might seem easy to be insured for this coverage, at time of claim (death) the insurance company will investigate whether or not you are eligible for the insurance. Any minor prior health issues that were not FULLY disclosed on the application could disqualify your family from getting the death benefit. Consider also that the bank’s mortgage life insurance has a decreasing insurance benefit; you have less life insurance coverage every time you make a mortgage payment, yet the monthly premium does not decrease. When you pay off your mortgage the bank’s mortgage life insurance cancels and there is no option to get a personal policy, and all your premiums are lost money.

Captive Life Insurance Agents

Captive insurance agents are life insurance advisors who represent only on insurance company. A captive agent can only offer products from their insurance company, meaning clients have very limited choice. It would be like shopping for a car but you are only allowed to visit the Ford dealership, and must chose a Ford – no other car companies can be considered. You are not guaranteed to get the best rates. Typically, premiums charged by captive agents are much higher than if a client bought through an independent insurance broker. You, the buyer, generally lose when buying from a captive agents as they are handcuffed by their inability to sell the entire Canadian market for life insurance. Companies that still maintain a captive life insurance agent sales force are Sun Life, RBC Insurance, Freedom 55 (London Life), Primerica, and Desjardins. And, by the way, all these companies offer their life and health insurance products to life insurance brokers too.

Independent Life Insurance Broker

An independent life insurance broker has access to all companies offering life and health insurance in Canada. They can research the market on your behalf to find the best possible solution for the lowest possible premium. Price isn’t the only driver when selecting an insurance policy that is best for you. Some companies could offer unique benefits and riders that better serve you, or you might have a health issues that is looked on more favorably by one insurance company vs. another. All this comes into play when advising clients about the best life and health insurance options for them. Be sure to also ask about your insurance broker’s experience, support system/network, professional credentials, etc.

A Life Guard Insurance Broker Can Help You

At Life Guard Insurance, we are a network of highly skilled, professional life insurance brokers across Canada. Our life insurance brokers are supported by Canada’s largest national life insurance general agency, PPI Solutions. Our brokers have access to specialized services from reinsurance, meaning we can negotiate a policy when there are health issues or foreign travel restrictions.

Please visit our Instant Life Insurance Quote page, or feel free to contact us or phone us at 1-877-475-7715 to be put in touch with an insurance broker you can trust.

The article was written by +Mitch Reynolds. If you found this article interesting or it made you think, please feel free to share your comments below. Liking us on Facebook, giving us a +1 on Google or Tweeting this article about getting the best advice from a life insurance broker would be very much appreciated.

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