Life insurance : advice?

[North Shore]

Insurance can make your head hurt. Then I asked where waterbomber pilots would be classified......

My experience here is that my work group plan is good for 5x my annual income, and I'll have to go to PPIP for the rest; every time I approach an insurance company, and they see that I fly tankers, then the rates go up: 2,3,5 x the normal for my age. Or, they'll cover me, but refuse to pay out in the event that I thump it in at work

[merlin]

I have a 500K term20 for $450 a year from london life(age 30, in good health), that I can cx or change to another product at anytime. Being a Commercail Pilot was a non issue for them.

I looked into the UL products and found them to be expensive insurance and very poor investments unless you are over funding them. For me the two are seperate things, if you need insurance buy insurance, if you want investment get an investment not a life insurance product.

I buy life insurance so that if by chance I was to die early/young my wife and kids would not be on the street, not so they can be rich. With 10-30 years of smart financail management in most cases you should no longer need life insurance. The problem is that the majority of people have poor financail education and management skills. Remember this is not all about how much money you make, it is about how much money you keep. If the majority of people alone invested the interest paid to credit cards, banks, car loans and other lenders from their late teens to age 60 on poor financail choices they could have built investments in the millions in many cases.

[MUSKEG]

I wonder who came up with the idea that parents are responsible for the cost of their childrens education. And I wonder how much of that money is pissed away by kids who just go for the party. And all the while we have busted our butts to sacrifice every month so they get something for free. Whats wrong with working for it like my generation mostly did. Something is always more valuable when it costs you personally. Those insurance companies have got a great thing going.

[Edo]

Ok forget what I said on page 1 about RBC. Just heard back from then today about 2 months AFTER the aviation questionnaire was accepted. Turns out underwriting said they will cover me but at 3.00 per thousand extra. That takes the premium from about 60 bucks to over 200 a month.

Back to square one I guess, anyone know who else to try?

[North Shore]

I wonder who came up with the idea that parents are responsible for the cost of their childrens education. And I wonder how much of that money is pissed away by kids who just go for the party. And all the while we have busted our butts to sacrifice every month so they get something for free. Whats wrong with working for it like my generation mostly did. Something is always more valuable when it costs you personally. Those insurance companies have got a great thing going.

An interesting line of thought...I'm not sure whether the correct term is responsible, though? More like a concern over seeing your child either a) saddled with a multi-thousand dollar post-graduation debt due to student loans; b) slaving away at a low-wage job for the time required to bank the amount of $ required to fund a post-secondary education; or c) having to make compromises in living conditions or studying time to make a part-time job work.

OTOH, no question that something is more valuable if you've paid for it yourself...

[yodan]

I looked into the UL products and found them to be expensive insurance and very poor investments unless you are over funding them. For me the two are seperate things, if you need insurance buy insurance, if you want investment get an investment not a life insurance product.

You CANNOT over-fund a UL. Our tax laws do not allow it. In a UL, there is a minimum/maximum plan premium. If you minimum fund the plan, it will not work. If you maximum fund the plan, you will get the most value out of your UL. That is what it is designed to do. If you have a REAL financial advisor, he/she will assist you in determining where to place the money in the investment side of the UL; it is placed in the same "vehicles" as the commonly known investment vehicles: Mutual Funds or Segregated Funds and you have to fill out a questionnaire (by law) to determine your risk tolerance; that will determine in which funds to place your money. BTW, a seg fund IS an insurance product!

"The 10 Secrets Revenue Canada Doesn't Want You To Know" by David Roth (p99 - 107) It talks about insurance tax shelters; that is a UL

Merlin, did you not read this? perhaps you should. Also read page 99. The reason you have products like ULs is exactly because Canadians do not save money.

The problem is that the majority of people have poor financail education and management skills. Remember this is not all about how much money you make, it is about how much money you keep. If the majority of people alone invested the interest paid to credit cards, banks, car loans and other lenders from their late teens to age 60 on poor financail choices they could have built investments in the millions in many cases.

I wish more people realized this. That is a VERY accurate statement. The main reason for this is because most people have been lead in error by the traditional side of the industry and by the f***ing BANKS!

Well that is what your advisor has you believing and he certainly has your best interest at heart and doesn't really concern himself with the fees and commissions he will be receiving from the lame duck he has sold you.

I rest my case on that one. Did I mention the traditional side of the industry? This example (above) is classic. There are WAY BETTER options than RESPs should you decide to plan for your child's education.

[RatherBeFlying]

One very good way to find out if you are getting your money's worth out of an individual insurance plan is to know what the agent's commission rate is -- how eager an agent is to sell you a particular policy is a clue.

If the commission rate is high, the insurance company and agent are making serious money.

Different plans have different commission rates; typically term is the lowest.

[yodan]

One very good way to find out if you are getting your money's worth out of an individual insurance plan is to know what the agent's commission rate is -- how eager an agent is to sell you a particular policy is a clue.

If the commission rate is high, the insurance company and agent are making serious money.

Different plans have different commission rates; typically term is the lowest.

That is a rather simplistic and uneducated view and unfortunately negitavely influences other people who are seeking factual information.

Sadly, the traditional side of the industry is very much part of this problem and why people think like this. Simply put, if you deal with a XXX Life Insurance Company agent having access only to XXX Life Insurance Company products, your statement would be closer to the truth. That is why you go to an independant broker who is able to shop around for you and provide you with products determined by a Needs Analysis questionnaire. There aren't very many of those around!