The TK Advisor - The TK Group Ottawa Blog about Life Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Wealth Mangement and Estate Planning

Denied Life Insurance or Paying Extra Premiums for your existing coverage !

There are many people who have been lead to believe that they can not get life coverage or need to pay extra premiums due to:current or past health condition ,foreign travel, sports activities or past lifestyle choices .

Recently we were introduced to a professional client who was lead to believe that he can not obtain coverage due to Chrons's disease. We completed multiple applications and secured coverage on a standard basis without extra premiums . We also secured life insurance coverage for an individual who had cancer 6 years prior and were successful to have a 1 million life insurance policy issued without a rating. We were successful issuing a 1 million dollar policy for a client who needed the coverage to secure a 10 million loan from one of the banks and we did so by applying to 12 insurers .

A number of our clients travel to places like Israel , India and other less then desirable countries for insurers who are asked to issue a policy on a Canadian resident . We have a superior working relationship with insurers and this enabled our clients to obtain life products without exclusions or rating.

One of our corporate clients had just bought a racing car which he was going to race on weekends . We were able to secure coverage with two options : 5 dollar per thousand rating or standard premiums without coverage when he is on a race track.

Over the last 26 years in the business , recreational drugs and insurance underwriting has been a reality that we have had to learn to work with . While certain drugs are an automatic decline for coverage ,with full disclosure and building a case for the insurance underwriter we have been able to secure coverage for people that would never be accepted otherwise .

Even though we have senior underwriters work on our files , the decision to accept or not accept the risk has been one where we are never absolutely certain which insurer will win the clients business . Writing multiple applications on clients is very time consuming and some insurers "REFUSE" to take a application on a client who has applied elsewhere .

I opened up my company over 20 years a go to give my clients better value by being a independent producer representing a number of companies. There are still individuals out there that chose to represent one insurer and will look at another when they  "feel "that they "have to" . Do yourself a favor , complete an Insurance Audit with an independent adviser to confirm that in fact your coverage is what you think it is and that it meets your needs .

Estate Planning , Do you need it ???????

Some people think that Estate Planning is only valuable for the rich and many times will not think of engaging in the process of organizing their affairs.Also , people think that Estate Planning is death planning so they avoid it all together.

Estate Plan can be fairly straight forward or complex. The magnitude of the Estate Planning process is dependent on a number of considerations : nature of assets that are owned ,family situation , business considerations , residence status of beneficiaries ,charitable;e donations , shareholder or partnership considerations are some items to look at .

Will planning should be the first consideration that needs attention. Personal as well as a business will has to be considered for anyone involved in a business arrangement. Power of Attorney should be created so that if an individual is incapacitated , there is a chosen individual who can act on behalf of a disabled person.

Shareholder or Partnership agreements should be created for anyone that has business interest with partners . Even if spouses own the business together they should have a shareholder agreement implemented .Some agreements have been in place a long time and they need to be reviewed . We have also met business owners who have gone to the expense of creating a shareholder agreements but did not bother to sign the document.

Trusts are convenient vehicles that have many purposes but individuals have not either been told how they can benefit them or they have decided that they do not want to set one up due to various reasons . In a proper situation the cost of setting up and maintaining a trust is very small when considering the benefit , it is like a pimple on an elephants behind .

Insurance audit has to be completed to ensure that existing contracts are properly created to protect all parties and not create a taxable event . Operating company, holding company ,partnership ,trust and or individuals can own policies . The best way to know how to structure your insurance programs is working with professionals who work within a team environment to provide you with integrated financial advice.

Properly created Estate Plan will give you tax efficiency ,peace of mind , harmony in family and meets your wishes.

10 Mistake Buisiness Owners and Professionals Make

They believe that they are not  "big" enough to plan so they will wait until they have more assets !

Focus all their attention on working in the business rather then on the business !

They believe that competent professional advice is too expensive and what they have is " good enough " !

Financial advisor's they have come to know do not provide them with unbiased products from a number of leading suppliers !

They do not take the time to fully understand the product and services they need to seek out !

They do not take time to create a written plan or a road map which needs to be reviewed on a regular basis .

They overlook the tax planning and do not think that their work would qualify for R&D Credits !

They do not have a advisory team of professionals that work together serving their distinct needs.

They do not involve family members  and other stake holders in the planning process !

They are huge procrastinators when taking care of their personal needs !