 For potential home-buyers in British Columbia, this has been a tough year for those who want to take out a mortgage. Since the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions revised mortgage guidelines were implemented the Bank of Canada raised rates again by 0.25%; which adds to the financial burdens new home-buyers face. In fact, in issue 13.03 of Canadian Mortgage Professional magazine, mortgage brokers reported that the borrower rejection rate from large banks and traditional monoline mortgage lenders have gone up by as much as 20%; which leaves would-be home-buyers in a very difficult situation. While certain provinces appear to be harder to get into for first-time home-buyers than others (you should see what $300,000 will buy you in Nova Scotia compared to Vancouver) the need for insurance is heightened by these newest rules. While the stricter rules may have unintended consequences, including sending a higher proportion of borrowers into alternative and private channels it may mean that when it comes to mortgage insurance, you could be getting better coverage by looking at other options. This is where Broker Plus Insurance comes into play, unlike most mortgage brokers, we are proud to offer specialty products such as No Medical, Job Loss, Child Critical Illness and Term insurance with the options of having terms up to 30 years. While mortgage brokers do their due diligence to vocalize the need for insurance their hands are essentially tied because they cannot explain the product benefits and/or drawbacks, unlike our company. We put you and your family first to make sure that the products we are offering you are best suited for your needs. While the prospect of tapping into the housing market can be scary for first-time home-buyers, don’t let the need for insurance scare you from making your home-buying dreams come true! To request a quote on the products we offer, click here. Or call: 1-877-242-8820 and press 3 to speak with an insurance coordinator.
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 Your needs are always changing, as you get older, have children, get a new job or go through some of life’s challenges (divorce, the death of a spouse, health issues) your insurance needs need to be reassessed every few years. If this overwhelms you, it shouldn’t, because Broker Plus Insurance is here to help! We understand that for a lot of people, insurance can be a stressful thing to think about and we try our best to make it as simple and stress-free as possible.
The mistake a lot of folks make is putting an insurance policy in place and then never revisiting it as their circumstances change to make sure it’s still the best option for them. Whether it’s being over-insured or under-insured, a quick needs analysis will answer that question for you in a matter of minutes. Click the needs analysis link below and we will figure out your bottom line, contacting you with the options we think are the best fit for you! We have products for every stage of life and health profile! Mortgage Protection – Life | Disability | Job Loss | Critical Illness | Accidental Death Personal Insurance – Life (permanent and term) | Critical Illness (to age 75) | Child Policies | Disability | Final Expense No Medical – Life | Disability | Critical Illness | Final Expense NEEDS ANALYSIS Don’t wait any longer, hop on over to Broker Plus Insurance’s website through the link below and put your troubles at ease this spring! To request a quote on the products we offer, click here. Or call: 1-877-242-8820 and press 3 to speak with an insurance coordinator.  Image obtained from http://www.memegen.com/meme/oq41tr Many of us are familiar with Charles Dickens’ classic story A Christmas Carol, and if you are not let me take a minute to explain it to you. Essentially, Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly owner of a London counting-house, notorious for his cold-hearted, penny-pinching ways. However, through the visits of 3 ghosts of Christmas (past, present, and future) he has an epiphany about how his behavior has affected those around him and decides to become a better person until the end of his days. While you may be wondering what Ebenezer Scrooge has to do with insurance, let me assure you that in our business we have come across a few Scrooges of our own.
For example, one of the worst things we encounter in our business is a client who doesn’t think insurance is necessary or just refuses to give any real thought to what will happen to their loved ones after they pass. While a premature death and is something none of us wants to think about, isn’t that being Scrooge-like? We should think about the full impact of what that loss would look like to our family and loved ones. Another common excuse we hear from clients is that they already have too much debt and they feel a monthly insurance payment will add to their debt load. The thing is, most Canadians have debt; whether it’s student loans, a mortgage, credit card debt or a car payment and there is almost always a way to make everything work. Yet some people have no insurance in place. BAH humbug, indeed! Think of it this way, a daily latte, which is a necessity for some, may cost the average person $4 while there are some insurance policies that are as affordable as $1-$2 dollars per day! With this perspective, does insurance really seem like that much an expense? Not to Tiny Tim, it doesn’t. Another factor to consider is that you cannot afford to NOT have insurance. If you have no savings, are the sole income provider (whether single or in a relationship), have a lot of debt, no room in the budget or no money put aside for funeral cost and living expenses then you most definitely need insurance! Broker Plus Insurance is proud to offer a wide variety of personal and mortgage products that are flexible to suit any budget so no one has to go without. Whether it’s a term of 10, 15 or 20 years, Accidental Death only or partial coverage; we ensure that your needs are paramount and that it fits your budget! Whatever your needs are, Broker Plus Insurance can assist you with obtaining the coverage that is right for you and more importantly, make sure that it’s affordable. So don’t “Scrooge out” on insurance! Talk to us first through one of the links below! To request a quote on the products we offer, click here. Or call: 1-877-242-8820 and press 3 to speak with an insurance coordinator.  Often times with insurance, you aren’t worried about all of the different ways something unexpected can impact your life until it’s too late. Whether it’s being laid off from a job, finding out from your doctor you have cancer or even a disabling car accident; all of those things can have a huge impact on your ability to pay your mortgage, your credit rating, your family’s security and ultimately, your happiness. You worked hard to achieve the dream of owning a home, so really, shouldn’t more thought go into protecting it?
The reality is you need to think about having a product in place when you are employed and healthy and don’t feel an immediate need for it. Perhaps you’ve taken the basic coverage that your lender offered with the mortgage or maybe you have something through work and opted not to take additional mortgage insurance. Keeping in mind all of the ways you can be impacted, now is the time to really look at the coverage you have in place and see if you’ve left yourself at risk. Here are some important questions to ask yourself:
Broker Plus Insurance has a wide range of mortgage and personal insurance products. We are proud to offer products that many mortgage brokers and lenders do not have access to, including No Medical products for those who have been declined for insurance in the past due to health reasons. Our insurance coordinators and licensed life agents are more than happy to assist you with reviewing your current coverage. Our flexible office hours will ensure that we are able to assist you at your convenience. To request a quote on the products we offer, click here. Or call: 1-877-242-8820 and press 3 to speak with an insurance coordinator.  Image obtained from https://blogs.zarget.com/5-cro-myths-debunked-2017.html Imagine this, you have just purchased a home that you’ve worked hard for and it’s time to consider whether or not to protect it with mortgage insurance. With all of the myths and negative publicity the insurance industry can get, it’s not hard to see why some people might be hesitant.
Here are some common insurance myths that we’ve debunked so that you can help make the right decision to avoid being faced with financial hardship in the future:
Whatever your families’ needs are, let Broker Plus Insurance walk you through the benefits of our products and how we can protect your family, investments, and future. To request a quote on the products we offer, click here. Or call: 1-877-242-8820 and press 3 to speak with an insurance coordinator.  One of the common rebuttals we hear from clients when they choose to decline insurance is that they feel they have enough coverage from their workplace. We hear everything from: “I have great benefits,” “my husband is part of a union” and, our all-time favorite, “I’ll never lose my job.” However, what many of these clients fail to realize is that the coverage offered through their work is simply not enough when it comes to their insurance needs.
Many people are more likely to be underinsured through their work coverage. While most benefits packages come with some kind of life benefit, it is statically not enough to cover your entire mortgage if you pass away. Common amounts are $250,000 or double one year’s salary. Often times homeowners are not even aware of their benefit amounts! With gaps in coverage, many homeowners are leaving their families at risk to carry the burden of a mortgage they can no longer afford. Another aspect many people fail to realize is that their job is not 100% secure. Even if you are fairly certain that you are not at risk ask yourself; what would you do if you did lose your job 10 years from now? There are no guarantees your next job would provide the same benefits, nor how long it might take you to find a job and put those benefits in place. Perhaps 10 years later, you decide that you now do need mortgage protection. The issues that arise now are that you are 10 years older than when you first took out your mortgage, have a few health conditions and (let’s assume) have the additional rating of being a smoker. Would you be able to afford the high premium you would be forced to pay? Health problems could also force you to leave your job. If you relied solely or heavily upon group insurance, and suffer a medical condition that forces you to leave your job, you may be losing your life insurance coverage just when your family is going to need it the most. At that point, it would be too late to purchase your own policy at an affordable rate, if at all, depending on the medical condition. Finally, your plan may not provide enough coverage for your spouse. While your employer’s benefits package probably provides health insurance for your spouse, it won’t always provide life insurance for your spouse. If it does, the coverage could be minimal, $10,000 is a common amount, and that sum doesn’t go far when you lose your spouse unexpectedly. While having work coverage in place is better than nothing, it will likely fall short and leave you with either a hefty monthly premium down the road or your loved ones without the coverage they need. Consider looking at one of the products offered through Broker Plus Insurance to ensure that your mortgage will be protected in the event of a death, disability, job loss, or critical illness. We offer several different specialty products as well; including term life, critical illness (to age 75) and no medical products (if you’ve been declined for insurance in the past). We also offer child protection products in order to ensure all of your family’s needs are being met. Don’t rely on work coverage alone, contact us today for a free, no obligation quote! To request a quote on the products we offer, click here. Or call: 1-877-242-8820 and press 3 to speak with an insurance coordinator.  There have been some big changes in Canada during the last few weeks. These changes are regarding the new mortgage rules that have been put in place by the Canadian Government. As of October 17, 2016, all insured mortgages (mortgages with less than 20% down) with a term of fewer than five years must undergo a “stress test” in order to confirm a borrower’s ability to continue to make mortgage payments at a higher rate.
What this means for homeowners is that they will be required to show they’ll be able to pay their mortgages at a rate of 4.64%. For some homeowners who had a non-insured mortgage (a 20% down payment), these new rules will not affect them. However, many homeowners who had a five-year fixed mortgage, for example, may have been previously qualified at 2.39%. Under the new rules, these homeowners will now be stress tested at the qualifying rate of 4.64%. How will this impact you? There are new criteria for conventional mortgages which homeowners must now follow. For example, a homeowner’s property must be owner occupied, hence rental properties are now excluded with these new rules. As well, the maximum amortization is now 25 years with a maximum property purchase of or below $999,999.99. Homeowners must also have a minimum credit score of 600 and a maximum gross debt service of 39% of homebuyers income and a total debt service of 44%. This is calculated by the Bank of Canada’s conventional five-year fixed posted rate. This also means that you may have to rely more on your mortgage broker to navigate them through these new changes. You may also have a harder time placing your first mortgage; which can be disheartening for your family, especially in today’s economy. This might mean that you will need to scale down the type of home that you had planned to buy. One upside to that is that it means you aren’t mortgaged to the hilt and can afford other things that are important in life, such as insurance. Recent statistics claim that 33% of Canadians do not have life insurance, and often times that is due to finances. Now is the best time to ensure you and your family are covered with life, disability and job loss insurance. With our programs, we are able to offer you different insurance options that are not currently offered through many lenders and banks. To request a quote on the products we offer, click here. Or call: 1-877-242-8820 and press 3 to speak with an insurance coordinator.  Image obtained from Success Yeti http://successyeti.com/communication/importance-honest-workplace/2015/10/05 I felt compelled over the weekend to write an article about a conversation I had with a friend of mine. We were speaking about the importance of insurance and my friend made an alarming statement. She said “I would love to get insurance but I do not trust insurance companies… there have been so many horror stories lately that I’m not sure I want to take that risk.” As someone who is working on getting my life license, I felt the need to prod her for more information, which is when she mentioned a co-worker of hers being declined at claim time for his mortgage disability protection.
I reassured her that not all insurance experiences are bad, in fact, most claims that are declined are completely avoidable in the right hands. Most mortgage insurance issues arise due to incomplete health information. As painful as it is, you can never be honest enough when it comes to your health history when you are applying for coverage. The way to look at it is the insurance company can either fully scrutinize your health now or at claim time when it may be too late. With most of our products, clients are fully underwritten upfront but there are always some that will be put in place automatically due to mortgage amount and how you answer the initial health questions. In order to protect you, we will have you complete a more comprehensive medical and lifestyles questionnaire to help catch discrepancies that would normally have put you into underwriting. Having that extra assurance that you’ve been formally approved by the insurance company is important. Whether you are looking for mortgage protection or a specialty product like term life, critical illness or a guaranteed issue (no medical required) product, we’ve got you covered! Our professional insurance coordinators and life agents will work with you to put insurance in place that you can count on! See what clients and have to say about our service here! To request a quote on the products we offer, click here. Or call: 1-877-242-8820 and press 3 to speak with an insurance coordinator. |
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All blog posts are written from Cassie Meadows, a Broker Account Manager at Broker Plus Insurance. 
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