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

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR FAMILY OR BUSINESS IN A RUINS ! !

I know that people think insurance planning , will planning , corporate planning and estate planning can be done later . When I hear of situations where individuals did not plan and trusts are set up to collect money TO HELP THEIR FAMILIES it saddens me . Why ? We in the insurance planning business did not get to those people on time or could not convince them in the value of planning . The insurance industry is full of very good planners that truly care for the people they serve but we can only do so much . Open your eyes and ask yourself , WHAT IF THIS HAPPENED TO ME ? DISABILITY, CRITICAL ILLNESS , LONG TERM CARE AND DEATH can be devastating and insurance can soften the blow at least financially .

Long Term Care Insurance is valuable insurance for young and old !

What constitutes a claim under Long Term Care insurance ? in order to qualify to receive benefits the insured must be ' unable to perform two activities of daily living ( ADL ) . If you think this coverage is only for the old you are mistaken , victim of car accidents , severe illness  or sporting accidents will qualify for this coverage which is based on ADL .These ADL situations are those where the individual cannot bathe ,dress , or move from one place to another without assistance or may also be incontinent , or suffers from a cognitive deficiency . ' For a couple ,there is a 64 % chance that one of them will require some level of long term care , and 20% of those who need long term care will need it for a period of more then 5 years . "  WOW ! We provide this coverage through a number of leading insurers and contractual obligations are not same with all insurers !

Sports are excellent activities to build strong community !

Being a coach on numerous football teams , soccer teams and working in martial arts has brought me skills that I am utilizing in my every day life . As a athlete I took every sport seriously an winning was the order of the day but I must say at times I learned a lot from losing . Sports teaches you how to cope with adversity : other players , coaches , trainers , and parents can create situations that can cause a athlete grief . I love to coach and it is my way of transforming my life lessons to our players . I want to win but not at all cost and definition of winning is different for all of us . We as coaches have to take our role seriously and to keep trying to build our athletes and not trying to break them down . I look forward to the new football season and to preparing young men to  be able to compete at university level  and for some hopefully will reach professional football status . Most of all , I hope to be able to contribute as a positive role model . I know I will learn some very good lessons from our players and in this way we all WIN ! Keep it always about the player and the team !

Who do you know and who can you help ?

When we all decide to work together our community benefits . I look at how I can help introduce my clients to each other to do business with each other . Why ? I am focused in helping each client with their integrated planning and increasing their business volume : What do you need ? We have : windows and doors , automobiles , home building , moving supplies , window dressing and curtains , tires , lawyers , accountants , real estate sale , real estate leasing , construction services like renovations etc. Having around 900 personal clients who are self employed , professionals and corporations allows us to assist you wind products and services . Why do I love networking beyond the obvious in helping people ? Networking is FUN !

Business world is sometimes changing at turbo speed !

So many times I see businesses trying to do things the way they have always done things . Saying I am making money so why should I change is like fool's gold . We need to always look at efficiency and what is it our clients need . We are going through a branding exercise which will have us be more efficient in numerous areas . Our clients were interviewed , our staff and all partners . Legislators are sometimes able to turn our world upside down with changes they implement in our respective businesses . As much as I like things to be stable in business , I continue to work towards improving myself , my team and my company . Sometimes going outside our industry we can learn lessons to help us improve our organizations . I am thankful for being close to many of our clients that let me into their world and learn lessons which help our firm be better .

Funerals can be a time to learn about life !

I know that going to funerals is a tough event to handle because someone's life ended and there are those left behind who are hurting . What if we were to look at positives and learn from them ? I learned a few things at a funeral I attended this weekend . One was a comment made about the deceased in a eulogy " he lived life on his own terms " and " he made others have fun while with them " . Sometimes people say it is important to write your obituary while you are alive . What would be your obituary ? I am thinking about what would my children , my friends and business associates say about me . Make it a great life while your are able to !

Emails or Phone calls ?

In this fast paced world we have forgotten how life use to be before cell phones , emails and voice mails . Those days are certainly gone today as we have all these tools but is our life any better today due to " improved " ability to communicate . Do you ever get frustrated writing emails for which a simple telephone conversation would be much more effective and quite frankly fun ? Working with successful and busy people makes life extremely difficult just to arrange an appointment using email ? After the emails go back and forth to get something done often I just get frustrated by the whole process . I am reverting back to working more on voice contact  via phone and use emails more sparingly . Call a friend to ask them how their day is going rather then email and see what happens ! Try to get your children to call you rather then tex ting you for everything , maybe wishful thinking on that one but I am sure not impossible . Happy conversations !

Integrated Insurance and Estate Planning 1

Why should you do more then just purchase a life , disability , critical illness and long term care policy ? The big picture planning is the only way . I have seen parents leave their teenagers as beneficiaries on life policies and after short conversation we discover they either have now will or it is ridiculously out dated . Do you have a power of attorney ? Is your Shareholder drawn up and does it meet your needs ? Insurance industry has many qualified adviser's who are able to assist you in the estate planning process to make sure you have no gaping holes in your insurance as well as estate planning . Look at designations your insurance adviser has and they will tell you if they are qualified beyond being a SALES PERSON of a product : CA, LLB, CLU,RHU ,TEP ,CFP to name a few designations . In my last 29 years of being part of this great industry I have seen huge progress in education standards of people who are true professionals . To get the best bang for your busk , work with qualified adviser's as it provides you with exceptional value .

Life Insurance Premiums Quoted , are they realistic ?

I received a email from a client on Friday asking me why premium quoted by me for his brothers life insurance policy owned by his corporation was  higher then that which his brother received from his Cooperators agent . This client knows we are a broker so he was surprised that one of our other 10 companies we represent could not provide lower premiums . After asking the client what was the quote , I was told that he was quoted PREFERRED rates , We always quote people regular rates and when they qualify AFTER ALL MEDICALS ARE RECEIVED AND ACCEPTED TO QUALIFY for this PREFERRED rate the insurer gives then that lower rate.  Client assured me his brother is in " Excellent" health and he would qualify . My executive assistant Catherine sent the client PREFERRED rates from our insurers and all of them beat his  brother's quoted PREFERRED rate by 20 percent .Some insurance SALES people play this SMOKE AND MIRRORS  game making the client believe they will always qualify for Preferred rates when only  about 40 percent of applicants ACTUALLY  qualify for lower Preferred rates . To qualify for these PREFERRED rates you need to have good health history , no lifestyle issues like car racing and your direct family have to  to be in good health ( parents and siblings ) . Since we never know how any one of our chosen insurers will look at client we would present our clients as well as potential clients with regular stated rates .

Exercise and our mental as well as physical health !

I am a individual that struggles to keep working out on a regular basis . I love working out however my schedule is packed with THINGS . Often I work out at 6 am or earlier to make sure I get a work out . When I work out I do it for mental as well as physical well being . Having a personal trainer at Free Form Fitness was a great motivator to get me back in the game . Another fabulous place is Bariatric Mrdical Institute . These places provide their clients with more then just learning how to exercise . I once read this statement " When we are young we spend all our time making money and when we are older we spend our money to regain our health ".