Are there times when you have wished you could magically get the best pricing on a product, without having to make those endless telephone calls? Have you ever wanted to compare Life insurance products and avoid all the phone calls and having to listening to a sales pitch with each call? The nightmare of endless telephone calls has finally ended.

 Now consumers can be sure they are getting the best rates for Life Insurance,

 “It’s quite simple, if you do your research and compare the products available in today’s market, there’s a much greater chance that you’ll save money,” Peter C. Choma, insurance specialist with SolutionsFinancial.ca said.

Choma added “that in the past, to effectively price Life insurance products, would have required the consumer to pull out the phone book and make numerous time-consuming calls to different insurers across Canada. One could then anticipate a further delay of several days before finally receiving the pricing that had been requested.”

SolutionsFinancial.ca has revolutionized the concept of researching pricing for Individual and Business Life insurance.

Consumers are always on the lookout for ways to cut costs and save time and money. Comparing quotes and rates is the best way to ensure that you get the best deal. Our new enhanced quoting tool does the comparison and instantly provides pricing from all major insurers in Canada, without having to waste precious time contacting each company individually to request rates. Solutions Financial simply provides the information you are looking for, when you want it, without the hassle. 

Written By: J Y Groves

The loss of a stay-at-home parent is emotionally devastating for a family. Unfortunately, it can cause serious financial difficulties, as well. That’s why it’s important for stay-at-home spouses to have life insurance protection.

Some families choose to have one parent work outside the home while the other stays home to take care of children. Other families are forced into such a situation by limited childcare availability or other circumstances. In either case, most people would agree that the wage earner in any family should have life insurance protection. After all, how would the family survive without a breadwinner’s income?

What about the Spouse at Home?
If something were to happen to a stay-at-home spouse, it would be emotionally devastating for the surviving spouse and children. There are, of course, many emotional repercussions of such a tragic loss to a family. But there could also be a tremendous financial impact, as well.

During the difficult adjustment time, there could be a real need for someone to help out in caring for the children and home. Often, friends or relatives will step in to assist during the first few crucial weeks. But eventually, they will need to return to their regular lives — and the surviving spouse will need to return to work. At that point, the only recourse may be to hire professional services. And this could present a financial hardship.

The Value of the Homemaker
While everyone recognizes the vital role of the family homemaker, few people stop to think about the literal value of the services performed by the stay-at-home spouse. This includes childcare, looking after the home, preparing meals, and many other time consuming activities, like carpooling, laundry and grocery shopping.

Today, the cost of childcare for preschoolers in this country can be as high as $8,840 a year, depending on where you live.¹ It’s even higher for infants and toddlers. The financial equivalent of the vital services a stay-at-home spouse provides can amount to tens of thousands of dollars a year.

That’s why it’s important for a stay-at-home spouse to have his or her own life insurance protection. It’s hard enough for a family to deal with the emotional repercussions of losing a parent/spouse. It shouldn’t be compounded by having to grapple with the financial hardships such a loss can bring, as well.

How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
There are no hard and fast rules for determining how much life insurance is enough, because no two families have exactly the same needs or resources. As a general rule of thumb, though, the appropriate amount of insurance protection could equal up to an individual’s annual salary times the number of years before the youngest child is out of college, depending on other available income or resources. When calculating an amount for a stay-at-home spouse, the annual financial value of the services they provide should be used.

Let’s say you determine that the financial value of the services a stay-at-home spouse provides for your family equals $50,000 a year. If your youngest child will finish college in 15 years, the appropriate amount of insurance protection for the stay-at-home spouse could be as much as $750,000, depending on other available income or resources. Some other things you might consider in determining an insurance amount include funeral costs, medical expenses, probate fees, estate taxes and inflation

Don’t Overlook the Homemaker
It can be very easy to overlook the financial contributions of a stay-at-home spouse — that is, until the person is gone. If you or your spouse decide to remain at home to care for your children, don’t forget that the contribution of the stay-at-home spouse can equal tens of thousands of dollars a year. The loss of a parent is hard enough on a family; purchasing insurance coverage for a stay-at-home spouse can help ensure that it doesn’t become a financial hardship as well.

Most insurance companies in Canada believe that a smoker is someone who has used some form of nicotine product or marijuana within the last 12 months. Included in the definition of nicotine products are cigarettes, pipes, cigars and nicotine gum or patches. Should you choose to quit smoking during your policy term then there are a number of options that can save you money. It is possible that you could change to the non smoker category and therefore receive lower premiums however if your health has changed since the start of the policy this option may not be available.

The 10 year term life insurance policy is one of the most easily explained and simplest types of life insurance. This policy has a guaranteed level premium and level death benefit for 10 years. With some insurance companies the insured is allowed to renew the policy every 10 years until approximately the age of 75. If you are looking for a high death benefit at a low premium for a short period of time then the 10 year term life insurance policy is an excellent choice. If you therefore have a need for a large amount of life insurance and you have a limited budget the 10 year term life insurance policy may be an ideal fit for you and your family.

Why would you insure your mortgage when It’s far better to insure you. After all, you’re the one making those mortgage payments and providing for your family. Why not use a personal life insurance policy, you can plan to meet more of your family’s needs in the event of death. Great planning gives you the coverage your family needs and deserves call a licenced insurance broker and get covered.

In regards to life insurance there are two basic types, one being term and the other permanent. Term insurance provides life insurance for the amount of time that the policy holder specifies. If the insured dies within the specified time, the face value of the policy will be given to the beneficiary, however if he does not die within that time span and the policy is not renewed, then nothing will be paid out. Permanent life insurance on the other hand, provides insurance protection for the policy holder’s life span, as well as a savings element. There are two common types of permanent insurance: whole life and universal life.

Permanent is more expensive to own than term insurance, however, you should let your family’s need be the determining factor in deciding which type of insurance is best for you, rather than the price.

You have probably heard arguments about how term policies are the better deal or marketing hype regarding cash value policies, but what it really comes down to is each person’s individual situation.

According to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, more then 20 million Canadians are protected by life insurance with an average amounts owned were $156,200 for insured individuals and $312,200 for insured households.

That leaves approximately 30% of individuals without important insurance protection as well insured households only having an average amount of $312,200 of life insurance, this could represent many families being underinsured in Canada.

Creating awareness around the need for life insurance is paramount there are many brokers and insurance agencies in Canada available to help with your insurance needs, call a insurance professional whether you are protecting your family your business there is help out there.

Author: Peter C. Choma an insurance specialist with Solutions Financial

Reference: Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. 2008 Edition of Canadian Life and Health Insurance Facts http://www.clhia.ca/e3a.htm

Mortgage insurance on your life is not the same as an insured mortgage

www.solutionsfinancial.ca

This segment from CBC Marketplace on February 6, 2008 provides you with concise information about bank mortgage insurance and the reasons for consumers to purchase their insurance through a licensed broker.

Click here for the video.

Life insurance is very important but the trick is to purchase the one that suits your needs and budget, don’t base your purchase on cost alone.