As an EPC (Elder Planning Counselor) I was delighted to attend and speak at the first Elder Planning Issues Conference (EPIC) in Niagara Falls this month. Approximately 150 EPC’s from across Canada met for two days to learn more about topics critical to their elder clients, including: Memory loss Frauds and scams Funeral planning Legacy planning Emergency planning Advising family caregivers of the frail elderly (Karen’s session) [...]
It should. We are on the edge of the first "mass geriatric society” and unless we get our act together, the picture will not be pretty. The fastest growing segment of our society is the 85+ and roughly half of those will suffer from some form of dementia. Why? Because the number one risk factor for Alzheimer Disease and related dementias is aging. If no cure [...]
Canada's baby boomers are a happy lot, but are worried about their financial future. A survey for BMO Financial Group finds only 28 per cent of boomers are very confident that they will be financially secure in old age, compared to 41 per cent of those under 40 years of age and 47 per cent 60 years and older. A third of boomers believe their standard [...]
Wealth management is the phrase du jour. The billions of dollars that are being transferred inter-generationally are creating a renewed interest in HNW clients. There is tremendous competition on Bay Street and across Canada for these clients However are they being well served? According to Taddingstone Market Research, they are not. "Only 33% of millionaires surveyed by Taddingstone use private banking services. And those that do aren't [...]
Twenty years of data indicate there is a strong correlation between nursing home admission and the presence of certain unhealthy lifestyle-related factors in middle age. Researchers at the Institute for Health at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, found that, by and large, the same factors that increase the risk of disease and early death also increase the risk of requiring nursing home care later in [...]
How MGAs Can Help Their Agents Sell More By Wilma Anderson Many sales organizations are accustomed to giving their agents sales training and providing agents with leads. This is good, but it’s only a start. Over the years, the industry has developed an infrastructure to train agents how to sell life insurance and financial products. Most agents can adeptly conduct a sales interview and overcome typical [...]
Healthcare a concern for investors: poll (February 15, 2006) The future of Canada's healthcare system is a source of concern for many when planning their retirement, according to a survey from TD Waterhouse, and that level of concern is rising. In a client poll, the brokerage found 61% of respondents expressed concern about rising healthcare costs, compared to 54% last year. The potential for privatization of [...]
When I read the following letter, I contacted Dale Reynolds and spoke with him. Letter to the Editor: Marketing LTC Insurance Is Not About Money Or Statistics Dale O. Reynolds writes: This is in response to the November 2005 feature article in LTC e-Wire on the last 4 years in the LTC industry, written by Trevor Thomas. I have been involved in the LTC industry since [...]
According to a June 2005 Ipsos-Reid survey commissioned by Sun Life Financial and its Clarica advisors, nine in ten Canadians (89 per cent) have had a friend or relative suffer a critical illness such as heart attack or cancer, yet almost half (49 per cent) have no plan to cover the high costs and loss of income associated with living through such an illness. Even among [...]
(Note: Karen was responsible for her father's care for 14 years. Ralph Henderson died in a Toronto nursing home in 2000 at the age of 93.) Nobody thinks they will become a family caregiver. One day you are a daughter or son, occasionally helping out your parents. Seemingly overnight you become a case manager, disease specialist, chauffeur, researcher, care advocate - all in support of an [...]
Most living benefits professionals are aware that too many Canadians live in ignorance about long term care costs and needs. However, when US based MetLife published the results of their Long-Term Care IQ Test, the situation was revealed to be almost unbelievable. What this survey indicated was a pervasive ignorance about LTC in a society where more and more people are growing older and older and [...]
Although many of your clients need long term care protection, either they don't know it or are afraid to face it - or both. They need a strong, informed, empathetic advisor whom they can trust because you know more than they do. They are looking for an advisor: Who has expert knowledge Who is able to make process/products understandable Who is good at navigating life's course; [...]
