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Frequently Asked Questions

Disability and critical illness insurance is a living benefit insurance. The product is very customized and companies have specific definitions of each illness. The reason of decline the claim could be that, the beneficiaries may not be qualifying or do not fit in the definitions. Other reasons include fraud or if the waiting time period is not satisfied. Critical illness offers the return of the premium on surrender, expiry and death if you have never claimed. Disability insurance offers 50% of returned premium after every 8 years deduct if any claims were paid.

Guaranteed issue policy can go to a maximum of $35,000. If the client pass away in two years they will get premium back with interest. It is used for final expenses.

Non-medical insurance can be from $50,000 to $300,000.

There are no health questions or medical tests required. The client has to answer some basic questions and based on their answer, they can qualify for $50,000 to $300,000. This plan is ideal for those who are afraid of needles, having some health issues, are new immigrants, or on a work permit. The premium of this plan is little higher then underwritten applications due to the fact that no medical information is required.

Life insurance application is underwrite based on your health history, family history, lifestyle, financial background, occupations, etc. Please provide all the information you have and leave the decision to insurance company. Do not hide anything, which may directly affect your claim. The top priority is to get insured first with whatever existing conditions you may have.

You should provide your photo identification, sin card, family doctor name, address, phone number, employer – name, address, phone number, last visit to the family physician – reason, treatment, follow up, name of any specialist if you have consulted, traveling history (if you travel outside Canada or USA in past two years).

The policy may not be processed if:
1. You have already planned to go outside Canada or USA and you have booked plane tickets, hotel room or have contracted for a job at the time of application.
2. If any test is pending or the test results have not came yet at the time of application. Underwriter will not take any decision. Policy will not be issued until they receive final result. At the time of application, make sure there are no pending tests or test results.

Most of the insurance companies in Canada have been established since the past 50 – 200 years. They have a strong financial back up. However, in case of insolvency, the company will pay $200,000 immediately to the client, then after any other company who takes over the business will settle their claim.

Life insurance is for the beneficiary. Therefore, make sure your beneficiary know about your insurance policy. A trustee should know about his appointment as a trustee of a minor beneficiary. They will have to approach the insurance company for claim settlement. Life insurance claims will be paid due to a natural death or an accidental death anywhere in the world. If the death is a suicide, the claim will only be paid if it has been two years after the policy was issued.

If the death occurs outside of the country, call the Insurance Company as soon as possible. They will let you know what documents to collect. However, these are the documents needed based on the type of claim.
Death by Illness: attendant physician statement, hospital record, funeral certificate, death certificate, traveling record and any other relevant documents.
Accidental Death: police record, autopsy, attendant physician, hospital record, death certificate, funeral certificate. Traveling record
Natural Disaster: Above documents (if the death certificate is not issued, client has to pay premium until 7 years or until the court declares the death of missing person and issues death certificate. Only then after, the claim will be paid.
Claim cannot be paid: In case of war, fraud, beneficiary’s interest, death due to involved in illegal activity, terrorist activates or in criminal offence.

If you quit for one year and if you are in good health, you can get the non-smoker rate after you underwrite your application. If you have quit before the application, you have to mention when you quit smoking or using any tobacco products.

Yes, most companies will consider it as fraud and void your policy. The consequences are mentioned in the policy. Always make sure your information is 100% accurate. Insurance Companies have decline many claims when they have found any fraudulent information.

Ex. A case in the United States: A man had misrepresented information about his tobacco chewing habit and he got a non-smoker policy. He later was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in two or three years of policy issued. Insurance company had investigated the case and decline his claim due to fraud.

It is cheaper if the product is a life product. For universal life products, it’s not.

The cost of insurance is based upon the probability of risk. The older a person becomes, the greater the risk of mortality or health problems becomes, and therefore, the cost becomes greater.

The maximum age to buy life insurance is 85 years. The cost of insurance is based on the possibility of potential risk. The older you get, the greater the risk is. That’s why it’s more beneficial to buy life insurance at a younger age. Buying life insurance at a later age often results in much higher rates.

As insurance brokers, we work with a variety of insurance companies. We are paid on a commission based on the business issued and accepted. All insurance agents obtain income in this way. There are brokers that work specifically for one more company which may pay them salary and/or a commission. The income type of the broker does not affect the price you pay for your policy.

There are approximately 105 life and health companies operating in Canada. Some are federally incorporated and may operate countrywide and some are provincially incorporated and operate only in their respective province.

This is an unexhausted list of some of the better known life insurance companies: Manulife, Sunlife, Canada Life, BMO Life, RBC Insurance, Empire Life, Foresters, Equitable Life, Assumption Life, Industrial Alliance, Transamerica, Wawanesa, Blue Cross, Canada Protection Plan, La Capitale/Penncorp, and more.

Rates can vary greatly from various companies. It all comes down to the target audience of the companies. Some companies may target older clients while others target smokers. A company maybe have lower rates for travelers while other companies may be more expensive. With Denikings Insurance and Investment Broker, you can see the same plan from various different companies and choose the one that is to your liking.

Most companies offer coverage for the same illnesses but they can vary from specific companies. Depending on the company, illness can be included within a policy or be added with an extra cost. When comparing policies, it is important to make sure both policies include the same illnesses including the additions.
Critical insurance is offered in full coverage policies, which usually cover about 20 – 26 critical illnesses. Some companies may offer basic policies, which provide coverage for the top 3 – 4 most common illnesses (I.e. stroke, heart attack, cancer, and etc.)

Disability insurance is a coverage plan, which provides a monthly income to those who cannot work due to a result of a physical injury. The amount of income payout is determined by the beneficiary’s earned income (I.e. salaries, wages, commissions, net research grants, and net business income).
The disability income insurance payout will not be greater than the person’s original income.
Declared income is used to determine the disability insurance payout although, the person may decide to opt out for a lesser payout.

You can have multiple beneficiaries. Keep in mind the face value of the policy when the policy owner is determining the amount of beneficiaries.
A beneficiary can be:

The insured’s estate
A person or persons
A class of persons
A business
A minor

When a person is designated as a beneficiary, they can be stated as revocable or irrevocable.
A revocable beneficiary can be changed, without any consent required from the beneficiary. An irrevocable beneficiary must give their consent to the change in writing.

A renewable policy allows the policy owner to renew the plan with the same term and face value without having to provide medical credentials until required within the policy. Renewal terms vary from 5, 10 and 20 years. I.e. a 10-year renewable policy will renew every 10 years without the need to provide medical information for insurability. The premium must increase due to a greater risk of mortality over time.
A policy will always be considered non-renewable unless explicitly stated otherwise.
A convertible policy allows the policy owner to convert to permanent insurance for the same or less face value without having to provide medical credentials. Conversion is a feature that allows a person to maintain their insurance, which might not be provided because of poor health when their expiry expired.


Disclaimer: Insurance, Investment and Mortgage products & services are provided by Devangkumar Shah.
Mutual Funds are sold through Shah Financial Planning Inc., the Mutual Fund Dealer.
Lotus Loans and Mortgage ltd. is the principal mortgage broker.