Category: Insurance

Manage your Travel Insurance while on the trip; Anywhere, Anytime!

Exciting news today from one of the Insurance Companies I deal with.  They now have an online portal so that clients can manage their Travel Policies.

  • Convenient access anytime, anywhere
    • Immediate assistance 24/7—perfect for when you can’t reach me or the companies’ Customer Service team!
    • Accessibility from any (internet connected) device (phone/tablet/laptop/desktop)
  • Self-serve policy management
    • The ability to modify your policies,
      • add extensions,
      • renew existing policies,
      • and more!
  • Self-serve claim management
    • start a medical**, dental, trip cancellation or trip interruption claim online,
    • upload claim documents to an existing claim, and
    • check a claim’s status.

**If you are admitted to a hospital overnight, your claim can’t be started online.

If you are planning a trip (or have one booked) and need Travel Insurance, reach out!

 

kevin@ksfraser.com
587-600-0013
Airdrie, Alberta
Canada

Do you have a Risk Management Plan?

Do you have a plan for when something unfavorable happens?

Back when I was a Project Manager, one of the earliest activities we did in a project was the Risk Management Plan. As we were scoping out the project, we would identify things that could go wrong, and what their impacts would be. We also identified what the preventative measures we could take were, as well as the post-event actions to take.

As we did this, we identified the costs of the preventative measure, the cost of the event, the cost of post actions, and the likelihood of the event. We could then determine if taking the preventative measures were of value.

What does this have to do with a person’s life?

We face risks each and every day. Consider that your job is (usually) a large part of your life. What happens if there is a snow day? If you are on salary, you might cheer and do something else. Or perhaps your employer has given you a laptop so that you can work from home. But what if you are a wage employee, and don’t get paid if you don’t work? Or what if your car breaks down, do you have a different way to get in?

And those are reasonably minor risks, with potentially low (big picture) impacts. How about if your house burns down?

Insurance is one way of passing the financial risk of an event to a 3rd party.

We regularly go through our Risk Management Plan trying to identify risks we haven’t yet identified, validating the ones we have, re-costing the preventative measures and the expenses of the event, as well as updating our post event actions.

Would you like to find out how we can help you with your Risk Management Plan?

Schedule a Meeting with Kevin

Schedule a meeting

Old Style Planning versus Modern Planning

Surviving an illness like Cancer, a Heart Attack or a Stroke is likely, but it can be financially devastating.

Our Parents and Grandparents may not have purchased Critical Illness insurance, because 20 or 30 years ago it was much less likely to survive these illnesses.   Therefore, these illnesses were appropriately “covered” by life insurance, as the insured didn’t survive, but their families were cared for.

However, now that we frequently survive these illnesses, we need to look after our families during our treatment and recovery!  The CMHC reports that 48% of foreclosures are due to the impacts of a Critical Illness.

Critical Illness insurance provides a cash benefit to help you cover the expenses of treatment and recovery. Examples of uses of the funds:

  • Alternative treatments
  • New medications
  • Hire in home care
  • Cover unpaid leave for healthy spouse
  • Fly in friends or family for support
  • Post recovery vacation
  • Protect your savings and investments
  • Offset lost income

Contact me to discuss further!

kevin@ksfraser.com
587-600-0013
Airdrie, Alberta
Canada

The difference a Year makes

It is one of those secrets of success; If you want to change, you have to make a change. If you don’t change things, and external forces don’t do it for you, then life will continue on the path it has been on. You can look into the future and reasonably predict what it will look like.

Well, a year ago, the world as we know it changed drastically.

Did you change for the better or for the worse because of it?

Now, this sounds like a judgemental question. But it isn’t meant to be. It is, however, meant to be a nudge.

I get it. At first, we all paused, waiting to see what would happen. Then the rules changed. Restrictions happened. Then they eased. Guidance changed. Restrictions came back. Now we have vaccines and easing of restrictions. But we are also being told to smarten up (OK, not quite the words Dr H used, but still). Makes it feel like more restrictions could be reintroduced.

So, did you hunker down? Pause? Change your activities?

Pretty well everyone I know made changes. Travel was out. In store shopping was/could be risky. No eating out (take out excepted). No bars/clubs/concerts/trips.

So with all the things we couldn’t do with our money, did we save and invest it?

Amazon and other online retailers reported record sales. Shipping companies are finding they have capacity problems and expansion isn’t keeping up.

One stream of my income (I have 3) ceased to exist. But my other 2 sources actually showed a slight increase. My wife’s only source of income also came to a screeching halt. She has worked on 3 alternative source.

Because of government support such as the CERB, we didn’t lose any ground compared to plan. Business owners in my social circles report 1 of 2 things – their industry was hammered and they couldn’t (or didn’t) change so took a hit. Sometimes a big hit. But other owners report record years.

I’m obviously one of the ones who didn’t change enough for any of my 3 businesses. That said, I have been attending online conferences, webinars, and the likes trying to get inspiration for ways to pivot. I have a few ideas; keep watching this space…

Enough about me.

How did the last year affect you?

Did life go according to plan? Did you rewrite the plan? Do you have a plan?

Need Assistance with a Plan?

If you don’t have a plan, or would like help reviewing your plan, you can reach out to me through either the Chat box here (it’s linked to my FB Business page so pops up on my computer and/or phone depending on what I’m logged into) or you can phone 587-600-0013 or email protect@ksfraser.ca.

What Happens If a Life Insurance Policy Lapses?

Did you know: The dollar amount of death benefit payouts that seniors forfeit annually through lapsed, or surrendered life insurance policies is $112 billion! (2015). This is more than the net worth of either Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) or Jeff Bezos (Amazon)!

That is $112 billion worth of cash value down the drain. These could have been death benefits, inheritance, or donations to charities. This is $112 billion that insurance companies get to retain. All because policyholders surrendered their policies or allowed them to lapse.

Why do policies Lapse?

A life insurance policy lapses when a premium isn’t paid.  This results in all benefits of the policy being lost!

However, there is a brief grace period during which a premium payment for the life insurance policy can be made.

Can a Lapsed policy be recovered?

Yes, there are a few circumstances in which the life insurance policy can be recovered. 

  • It could be as simple as resuming premium payments.
  • It could involve a lengthy process that includes a new medical exam, repaying all premium payments from the lapsed period,
  • It might require the services of an attorney.

How to avoid a Lapsed policy

In short, pay your premiums.

Most insurance companies can automatically withdraw the monthly payment from a bank account.

Some companies may take missed premium payments out of the policy’s cash value. Note: term life insurance has no cash value.

If you’re in danger of a lapse, contact me today. Together we can review your financial strategy to help you and your loved ones stay covered.

The New Normal for Purchasing Insurance

With the current “social distancing” restrictions in place, the traditional method of your agent/broker sitting down with you and discussing your needs, providing a recommendation and then writing an application has had to change.

However, things have changed for the better.

As an independent broker I deal with many insurance carriers. Pretty well all of them have changed their plans and processes. No longer are face to face meetings required for ID verification. As well, policy limits have been adjusted so that I can now offer up to 1M of coverage without a para-medical exam. For larger policies, each company has their own processes. Some will offer the 1M for now with the promise to cover the rest once face to face restrictions are eased (so para-medicals can occur). Other companies are allowing alternative ‘evidence’ such as attending physician statements to replace the para. I’ve also heard that at least one company will “rate” (i.e. charge a higher premium) each customer until such time as the para can be completed. If the para brings the rating down, then a refund is retro-active to the in-force date.

The long and short is, don’t let the Covid-19 pandemic prevent you from moving forward on your insurance needs.

For a complimentary assessment of your needs, please contact me to line up an appointment! You can use the FB Messenger chat window on this screen, you can email kevin@ksfraser.com or you can phone 1-587-600-0013.

How has Covid-19 affected Insurance Purchasing?

The following effects have been felt:

Many carriers (insurance companies) are not accepting paper applications. These companies are accepting electronic applications.

Managing General Agencies have closed their office space to non employees. Curbside drop-offs is still possible (so we can still submit paper documentation if absolutely required).

Paramedical companies have limited or suspended their in person appointments. This means that any applications that require a nurse visit (vitals, fluids) are on hold. However, they are still doing the tele-interviews for policies not requiring the in person.

Agents have to adapt their practices. While we can still do in person applications, the social distancing rules strongly recommend doing the applications non face to face.

The good news is you can still purchase insurance. You may have reduced policy amounts available for immediate placement due to the paramedical change in the short term, but you can always top up your policies once things return to normal. As well, permanent policies still have the Temporary insurance available.