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

Ottawa is a great business community !

I think we are lucky to be living in a city where there are so many unique business offering us services within our own community . I meet business owners every week and love the experience of learning about them as well as certainly their businesses . I feel privileged to be in the business where we are offering services to low tech , high tech and everything in between . We are a conduit for our clients as we look to promote them whenever an opportunity arrives . We have been involved in mergers and acquisitions which we initiated to assist our clients . Our clients know when they are looking for product or service we will point them in the right direction . I hear they call that pass it on and we do a lot of that every week . Let's support businesses in our community !

Is the cheque going to be big enough ?

I have been a professional insurance advisor for over 30 years and delivered cheques at time of death , disability and death .THe most difficult by far is the proceeds on death because it is a final cheque to children , widows and or businesses . Size of the cheque I deliver always matters and without exception I always wonder " is it going to be enough ?" . I have to meet a widow next week and the deceased's accountant next week to fill out the forms for her to get the proceeds from a life policy and I knew her husband for over 23 years since he was a young man . I am the only one who delivers a cheque so I always hope the cheque is big enough to meet all the needs . Like they say people want to go to heaven but never want to die to get there and you may be wondering why I say that . When I am meeting potential clients and probably some existing ones that do not know my caring ways , they may think this guy wants to make a sale . It is not about making a sale with me and it is about being able to know I helped to financially at least to lessen the burden . I too feel the loss and have a hard time knowing I will not see this deceased person's huge smile ? RIP my friend !

Why should a family business owner sell his business to outsiders ?

As planners we meet many business owners throughout the year who struggle to create a solution to meet their desire to have their business , their baby , continue after they are not able or wish to . Why do we try to plan our business to have a family member to take it over ? Why do we deal with family dynamics like a child in the business and another not ? What happens , when to our surprise , the children want nothing to do with the family business ? Maybe a family business should hire professionals to deal with family issues which are sometimes not evident to the naked eye . Maybe family issues are hard for the parent and child to deal with on their own so they are never dealt with . If family business does not engage in the planning issues around family dynamics I would strongly urge the owners to plan out their exit strategy to get maximum dollars when they sell the business from outsiders !

Doe's your company have service standards !

In my daily travels I deal with various service providers and some are fabulous while others give a bad name to meaning of service . The story is said about Henry Rolls walking through his garage and heard a mechanic say " that is good enough ' when he informed him " at RollsRoyce it is never good enough " . I believe that standards will distinguish a organization from others . Why do companies win awards for being best run like Farm Boy and Eagle Professional Resources to name a few ? Because they have a service standard that differentiates them from the want to be's . I also believe service standards are meant to be improved if you want to keep your corporate advantage . Communicating service standards throughout the organization is crucial and living it is vital for continued growth .

Long term care and you !

How will your finances handle the cost of long term care for you , your parents or your immediate family members ? We all know that our health care system is in trouble and will not accommodate all the demands places on it . Long Term Care insurance can create up to a 2 million dollar account for you to draw upon when the need arises . People are living longer today then ever before but with health impairments . On our web www.tkfg.ca you can learn how you can protect against huge costs of getting proper care .

Life insurance is not a commodity !

Some people think that buying insurance coverage is a pure "premium" play . Some sales people have tried desperately to make it only a premium play , my premium is lower then yours . At basic level , buying insurance is a exercise where you are creating a pool of cash which will be paid on a occurrence of a certain event like critical illness , disability , long term care and or death . Sometimes I hear the question "give me a quote " because the person asking is shopping . A life insurance quote is a "best guess " of what your premium will be . Why do I say best guess ? I see insurance sales people giving people quotes based on their age and smoking status only . REcently I was asked to quote for a sizable file and after meeting the potential client for first time we discussed the "quotes " he had received already and his age was correct , smoking status was properly quoted and he had a regular premium quote . After completing my due diligence it was discovered that potential client has diabetes and a few other health impairments . We explained what will be the possible outcome on premium when the potential client gets's a final offer from one of our 12 leading insurers .As professionals in the insurance planning industry , we have secured the coverage which we will place this week but we also brought in the client's corporate lawyer and accountant into the same room to complete the estate planning which was needed . Now we will have not only best "premium" insurance but also a complete coordinated plan .ACquiring life insurance from us is nor will it ever be a commodity ,

Developing a business to be a success !

There are many books written on building a successful business and everyone has an opinion on what are the key components . My opinion is that there is one key one perhaps above all " Building strong relationships " . With who ? First with people who work with you not for you . If these people buy into your dream and passion you will overcome much and have a successful organizational team . Your financial institutions need to know who you are and why they should stand by you in tough as well as easy times . Your legal and accounting professionals should have a relationship with you to create solutions rather then perform tasks . Your investment adviser should know who you are and what you require from her or him . Your insurance adviser should have a good relationship with you to create a safety net around you , your family and business . Last but not least , your husband , wife , girlfriend or partner should have a attitude of backing you as well as understanding your business because they are your backstop when ......