What is Life Insurance?
Life Insurance provides your loved ones with a death benefit to deal with the financial impact of your death. The death benefit is a tax-free, lump-sum amount that can be used to pay off your debts/liabilities, replace income so your family can maintain their standard of living, pay for funeral expenses, provide for your children or dependents, or even make a charitable donation. Life insurance proceeds get paid directly to your beneficiaries and by passes your Estate and probate, allowing for a private and smooth payment of the death benefit to your loved ones.
What is Critical Illness Insurance?
Critical Illness Insurance is considered a Living Benefit that pays out a lump-sum amount at the time of diagnosis of a covered illness (such as cancer, heart attack, stoke, among others) so that you can have the financial peace of mind to take the necessary time off work needed, get the treatment you need, and focus on what’s most important… your recovery.
What is Disability Insurance?
Disability Insurance, sometimes called Replacement Income Insurance and also considered a Living Benefit, is designed to replace a portion of your income if you were to become disabled and unable to earn an income. A disability can be due to an injury, a serious illness, or a mental health issue, and can last a short or long period of time. Disability Insurance will help provide a monthly benefit amount to you so that monthly expenses such as mortgage/rent, debts, utilities, food bills, and other expenses can be covered for the period of time you are unable to work and earn an income.
How much insurance do I need?
This will depend on a) how much debt/liabilities you have and if we need to take income replacement into consideration for your family, and b) what existing assets or insurances you have available to offset those liabilities. In the Discovery Meeting with your Advisor, they will take the time to get to know you, your family, and your unique needs, and they will lead you through an Insurance Needs Review to help determine what the right amount of insurance would be for you.
How much does insurance cost?
Insurance costs will vary per person and by the insurance product that is chosen. Factors that Insurance Carriers use to determine the costs are: Age, gender, build, smoker status, your medical history, your immediate family’s medical history, your occupation, your lifestyle, among others. Generally speaking, the lower the ‘risk’ the Insurance Company sees in an applicant the lower the premiums will be. Ex. A healthy 20-year-old Non-smoker with good family medical history will have a lower premium than a 55-year-old Smoker with diabetes and family history of cancer.
When should I consider getting insurance?
It’s never too early. The younger and healthier you are when you apply for insurance, the higher the likelihood you will be approved for coverage and at a lower cost of insurance as well. Too often than not, many people come to the realization of the importance of insurance when it’s too late. It’s better to be 5 years too early than 5 minutes too late.
Why should I get insurance through an Advisor instead of directly through the Insurance Carrier?
Independent Insurance Advisors takes the time to build a relationship with and get to know their clients. They dive deeper in understanding their clients’ needs, objectives, and future plans to ensure a personalized plan is in place to protect their client, their loved ones and their business. Once that has been determined, Advisors can unbiasedly shop the insurance market across all Insurance Carriers to recommend the insurance solution that best meets the clients’ needs. That Advisor continues to service his or her clients as they journey through life and their insurance needs change over time.
I have pre-existing medical conditions, am I still insurable?
Your medical history and/or pre-existing conditions may impact your insurability. Don’t assume you aren’t insurable, instead it is best to consult with an Advisor who can better understand your particular circumstances and advise the best approach to getting insurance, if possible. There are insurance products available that are designed specifically for people with medical histories that might have otherwise prevented them from getting traditional insurance.
I have Life Insurance already through my Group Benefits with my work, isn’t that good enough?
Having Group Life Insurance is great to have if included as part of your Employee Benefits package, but it is not to be relied on solely. Often, Group Life Insurance is only 1x or 2x annual salary at most, which usually isn’t enough to cover your debts/liabilities and consider income replacement for your family. Also, if you are young and healthy today, you will likely get less expensive coverage in an Individual Life insurance policy compared to the Group Life Insurance, and your Individual policy will provide you with more customization, control, flexibility, and portability.
I just graduated from College/University or finished my Post-Graduate studies, is it too soon to get Insurance?
It’s never too soon! In fact, if you are a New Graduate from Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Optometry, Engineering, and other professions, you may be eligible for New Grad Programs with certain Insurance Carriers that offer additional benefits and discounted premiums. Make sure to speak to an Advisor in your last year of studies or immediately upon Graduation to take advantage of these benefits and discounts while they are still available to you.
I already got Life Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, and/or Disability Insurance years ago, am I fully covered then?
It is great that you already have coverages, but it is encouraged to do regular Insurance Reviews with your Advisor to ensure your existing insurance plans still meet your needs. Life events such as marriage, having children, purchasing a home, changing careers, becoming self-employed, getting divorced, opening a business/practice, and other life events will likely impact your insurance needs. Make sure to keep your Advisor updated on any major life events so they can help you plan and adjust your insurances as needed.
What exactly does insurme do?
It’s simple, we are a boutique insurance practice that is dedicated to managing your risks first, and your returns second. Similar to a multi-generational relationship with a family doctor, we are there throughout our client’s lifecycle. We keep you informed on your financial health and constantly look for blind spots that need to get addressed. Your peace of mind and confidence in your financial health is what drives us every day!
What is unique about the insurme team?
We pride ourselves in our team’s professional backgrounds and industry experiences. Our team’s combined experiences in Wealth Management, Insurance Planning, Tax Planning, Human Resources & Talent Management, Engineering, and Technology, continuously foster innovation and drive continuous improvement in our practice. Our team is also comprised of advisors both with decades of industry experience, as well as young, dynamic advisors coming in with fresh ideas.
Where is insurme located?
Our head office is located in Edmonton, AB, however, our advisors are licensed in multiple provinces across Canada. We will make ourselves available to you wherever you need us, whether that be in person at our office, at your favorite coffee shop, in the comfort of your own home, over the phone, or even over a web conferencing session. We strongly believe that working with trusted advisors that put your needs first is invaluable, which is why we’ve made ourselves available to Canadians across the country.
What is insurme's philosophy?
At insurme, we believe in managing risks first, returns seconds. Managing risks first involves creating a risk management plan to protect you from blind spots and to minimize the impact of any unexpected turns of events in your life. Your greatest asset is your ability to earn income. If you were to lose your ability to earn income due to death, disability, or illness (whether temporary or permanent), any retirement planning or investment objectives you may have can be severely impacted..
We are committed to protecting you and what’s most important to you.
What does insurme charge for its services?
Our advisory and insurance planning services are provided to you at no cost! We get compensated by the insurance carriers directly if you write business with us. As independent advisors, we work with all carriers. Our duty is to provide personalized, objective, and holistic advice that best suits your needs.
How do I get started and what should I expect?
We are thrilled to have the opportunity to elevate your financial health. Our first touchpoint might take 20 minutes or more and we are happy to invest the time to get to know you. Typically, it takes between 2-4 meetings to implement your customized solutions. You can expect to experience the following process:
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- Fit – We want to get to know you to ensure we can add the best value to you and your loved ones.
- Discovery – What life stage are you in? What’s important to you? Where do you want to be?
- Plan – Analysis and design of your insurance plan given your unique needs
- Proposal – Walk through of recommendations
- Implementation – Turn the plan into reality
- Monitoring – Regular check-ins and servicing to ensure your plan still meets your needs as you journey through life