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We’ve all heard the old adage “Age is but a number” and while most of us would agree that’s a good motto to live life by, when it comes to insurance the older you get means the harder it can be to obtain. That being said, there are insurance products out there for most age groups. Let’s take a look at what insurance can look like at different times in your life.  0-18: Even though you may not be this young, it is worth noting that when it comes to the best age to buy insurance this is the BEST age group. We have fantastic child policies which can cover Life and/or Critical Illness. Now you may ask yourself why does a child need life insurance when they don’t have any debt or dependents? The value lies in locking in their insurability before any health issues put them at a higher rate or render them uninsurable. Once they become adults, they can convert the policy to a permanent one, take over the premiums and enjoy a low rate of coverage for their entire life. We even have a rider to a term life policy that allows a parent to buy coverage a blanket policy for all of their children – even those who are not born yet! All for as low as $5 or $10/month!  19-29: While this group is likely new to the housing market and probably strapped tight when it comes to being able to afford it, this is a fantastic time to purchase as much insurance as they can for the longest term they can afford it. There’s a lot of benefits to taking insurance at a younger age, not only are they offered the cheapest premiums, they are also locking in their health status while they are young and hopefully healthy. A 30-year term will have those rates locked-in and hopefully see you through to retirement. Although rates will rise when they go to renew their insurance between 50-60 but a significant portion of their mortgage should be paid down and they can lower their insurance coverage to prepare them for retirement.  30-49: This group is probably your most significant demographic when it comes to mortgage clients – and the best suited for it! They likely have children, car loans, credit card debt and may even be living beyond their means. The loss of a spouse could be devastating if insurance is not in place to cover debt and living expenses. At this age insurance rates can vary depending on health but it should be made a priority and for as long a term as your clients can afford. With mortgages being refinanced at the rate they are, those financial obligations are extending further and further into retirement age. We encourage you to lock in their rates before health and age triple and even quadruple premiums.  50-69: For those who are older, insurance can be a daunting prospect as premiums increase as one ages. Maybe these individuals have had a history of health problems or have been rated in the past and don’t want to go through the headache of getting a paramedical exam done only to find out they will be declined or rated. While we try and encourage everyone to apply for standard insurance policies first, we do have a line of No Medical products (Life, Disability, and Critical Illness) that require no medical underwriting! These policies are rated higher for risk and will come at a cost – but it’s not too late to lock in your rates for 10 or 20 years. Even if coverage amounts have to be lowered to fit a budget, some insurance is better than nothing!  70-85:
If you fall into this age category, insurance isn’t always an easy sell. Unfortunately this age group is rated the highest in risk and therefore the premiums to cover an entire mortgage loan are usually unaffordable. What we do recommend for this age group is a final expense policy – something in place to cover remaining debt, burial costs and some living expenses for the surviving spouse. If the remaining spouse can’t afford to take on the mortgage, this leaves the funds available from the sale of home so he or she can downsize or make other living arrangements. So no matter you are, insurance should be considered! Contact Broker Plus Insurance today to ensure that your needs and your family’s needs are satisfied. 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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 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.  With Valentine’s Day happening this month, most people are thinking about what to get their significant other. Yes, chocolates and flowers are the go-to options (although I will never object to receiving either) but maybe you should be thinking about something more significant and long-term this Valentine’s Day. While life insurance isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when considering matters of the heart, shouldn’t it be? After all, what you are paying for each month is the future comfort of your spouse or family. In fact, the only person that really has no chance of benefiting from your policy once they pass away is the life insured. Now if this isn’t motivated by love then I don’t know what is. At the heart of insurance is the desire to protect and provide for the ones you love. If given a choice between a romantic night out or enough money to ensure financial security in the wake of the loss of a partner, most folks would opt for the latter. This is especially important if there are children in the picture. What most folks don’t realize is that these policies don’t have to be expensive. Often the importance of insurance is overlooked because people think they can’t afford it, however, any insurance policy can be tailored to a budget and in a world full of cell phones and Starbucks, there’s always room. After all, how much is that diamond necklace really worth when you could find a policy with a yearly premium for the same amount? Make the smart choice this year NOT to put this decision off until another Valentine’s Day. There is a right time and wrong time to buy insurance. If you wait until you are older and potentially less healthy, it will result in increased premiums and potentially declined coverage because you may have a health issue that has made you uninsurable. Broker Plus Insurance is proud to provide a wide range of products including Term Life, Critical Illness, Disability with optional Job Loss and No Medical insurance to protect those who don’t qualify for standard coverage. We also offer Child Riders on Term insurance as well as stand-alone Critical Illness, so make sure the kids get some love this Valentine’s Day as well! Did Cupid’s arrow just prick you? Check out the links below for more information! To read more on each of our products, click 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.  With the new year upon us, many people (myself included) are thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Whether or not one sticks to their resolution is another matter, however, it is the thought of the resolution itself that I want to focus on. Insurance can be compared to a New Years resolutions in the sense that it’s something most people would agree they need to act on or stop putting off. Whether it’s putting a policy in place that got put on the back burner when you took out your mortgage or simply reviewing your ever-changing insurance needs, it ranks up there with eating better, exercising more and working on that savings account. To help, here are four insurance resolutions you should think about this year:
#1 – Ask difficult questions: Statistics show that most people are more likely suffer a critical illness than die, yet this product can be often overlooked. It’s import that you consider your own family health history to see if there is anything that could become a potential concern in the future. Many critical illnesses have genetic links such heart issues, some types of cancers. MS and Alzheimer’s disease. We offer two types of critical illness policies; one that will pay off your entire mortgage and a more affordable personal policy that pays out a lump sum of money to cover a few years salary. A critical illness policy is the best way to ensure that you are covered from ailments that could catastrophically impact your life and financial security. #2 – Analyze your work coverage: If you have group benefits at work, there is a chance that you’ve already declined insurance or are thinking about declining insurance in favor of relying solely on work benefits. However, depending how much coverage your work offers more often than not, it is not enough. For example, you may benefit from an individual disability policy if your company does not cover a sufficient amount of coverage you would need while being off of work with a disability or even top up with additional life coverage. This approach still presents a risk in the event of a job loss, however, leaving you possibly without benefits and insurance when you need them most. Remember, insurance goes up at you get older so you could find yourself without work coverage and left with a high priced policy you can’t afford. Don’t leave yourself open. Review what you have in place and plan for the future so you are covered for the long run! #3 – Don’t give up: Have you been turned down or rated for insurance due to your health in the past? Or worried you won’t qualify for a new policy? Perhaps you settled on an Accidental Death policy thinking there was nothing else affordable for you? At Broker Plus Insurance, we want everyone to feel included, which is why we offer No Medical insurance that requires no medical underwriting and is guaranteed to ensure you have some protection in place should something happen to you. These policies are great because they cover pre-existing conditions after a certain exclusion period (either 12 – 24 months depending on carrier). Now’s the time to look into this type of affordable option that will save you from going uninsured or under-insured and facing financial hardship should the unthinkable happen. #4 – Think of the children: If you have children you may already have bank accounts and RESP’s in place for your children’s future, but what about their health? Broker Plus Insurance is proud to offer Child Critical illness insurance as a rider to our Term Life insurance or as a standalone product. These products are affordable, costing as little as $5-$10 dollars per month with comprehensive coverage from ailments such as cancer, autism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. Our standalone Critical Illness policy covers each child up to age 75; which will insure your child for most of their life. There is also the option to add valuable life insurance to the policy, locking in their insurability through their adulthood. Coverage continues up to age 75 or can be converted before your child’s 60th birthday to a permanent life policy. Make sure all of you needs are met with our fantastic line of products so that 2018 will be a stress-free year to make new memories with the peace of mind that you and your family are protected. To read more on each of our products, click 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.  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.  Image obtained from Local Home Automation http://www.localhomeautomation.com/who-needs-a-garage-door-alarm/ Insurance, of any kind, is arguably the most important thing for you to have. Too often, many people do not see a need for insurance or already a policy in place; which may not be best suited for their needs. What many people fail to realize is that even if they have insurance, they may be paying high premiums due to not shopping around for other insurance quotes. At Broker Plus Insurance, we ensure that you are provided with the lowest rates possible; as we take the time to contact a wide array of companies and types of insurance to ensure you are getting the best bang for your buck.
Another issue is when people believe that their best course of action when it comes to insurance is to do their own research. However, we have found that most times, many people will not follow through with this research. The end result of this oversight is when you need insurance, you may not qualify for it; which could lead you to face financial hardships. A common concern we hear from clients is that they are worried about paying a monthly premium as they feel they are stretching their monthly payments to the maximum. At Broker Plus Insurance, we are proud to offer reasonable rates and partial coverage options for you to ensure that you are not spreading themselves too thin every month. Another important aspect of insurance to remember is portability; which many homeowners are not aware of. When you take a mortgage insurance policy offered through a lender you don’t think about what will happen if they move their mortgage to a new lender in the future. Most people do not realize that they cannot take their insurance with them; as lenders can only insure their own mortgage. When you begin a new insurance policy with a new lender, you will likely be in a higher age bracket and will have to pay higher premiums. If you have had a change in health status, you run the risk of not qualifying for coverage. For those who have been turned down for insurance in the past due to underlying health conditions, we offer No Medical products; which require no medical underwriting. As with all of our products, insurance is portable and guaranteed to provide you with affordable rates and inclusive protection. 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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