Visiting the Cottage or the US?

Are you planning to visit the cottage this summer or traveling outside of Ontario? One question you may have asked is, do you need travel insurance if you are traveling within in Canada?

For the most part – you are in good hands. We are lucky to live in a country that has great health coverage. Many of the same expenses are covered province to province, and you are most likely to reimburse of your medical costs albeit a few exceptions (i.e. ambulance).

However, traveling outside Canada is another story, even if you are just visiting the States. Say you get injured, break a leg and have to stay the night in the States hospital that can easily be $5000. OHIP will only reimburse you for about $200.

Canadians take 29 million trips annually outside the country, and when they travel to the States, many don’t always think of travel insurance, but it is important. Travel insurance is inexpensive, but it offers many benefits.  But mostly, having traveling insurance offers you peace of mind that lets you really enjoy your vacation.

Types of Super Visa Insurance

Last week we spoke about insurance being a pre-requisite for entry through Super Visa, but navigating what insurance is offered sometimes can be tricky. We’ve broken it down for you. There are two main types of Super Visa insurance: Emergency Medical and Expatriate Health Plans. 

Emergency Medical

You can think of this insurance almost like travel insurance for Super Visa entries. This insurance covers unforeseen medical emergencies – and cover he initial emergency medical care, and a limited number of follow up consultations after a person has been declared able and medically fit to return to their country of origin. 

Expatriate Health Plans

The second type of insurance is the one that is best for ailing parents with medical concerns. These plans cover both initial medical care, plus medically necessary continuing care until the term of the policy and eligibility. 

It is important to get clarification on what you policy covers and get pre-approval. Some plans offer no coverage of pre-existing conditions, while others offer coverage for stable chronic conditions. The cost of insurance is dependent on the existing medical condition, and anticipated needs. If your parent of grandparent has pre-existing medical concerns, it is important you choose to purchase an insurance that will cover their treatment and give you both the best peace of mind. 

Applying for a Super Visa?

It’s great to be able to have parents or grandparents visit and stay with you in Canada for an extended period of time – often times, a trip of 1 or 2 months is not enough time. The new Canadian Super Visa however, can change that by allowing your parents or grandparents to remain in Canada for 24 months at a time, without renewing their status. This visa is valid for 10 years. 

One of the key requirements for obtaining the Super Visa for Canada is insurance. Since many of the times parents and grandparents are elderly, the cost of medical care and hospitalization can be pricey. This is why Super Visa applicants must submit proof that they have purchased private medical insurance from a Canadian insurance company that is valid for a minimum of one year and offers a minimum of $100,000 in coverage for health care, hospitalization and repatriation. Regardless of it being mandatory, the need to purchase this insurance to protect your elderly loved ones is important in an event of needing medical care. 

For more information about applying for the Super Visa, visit the Government of Canada website. 

Graduated and job hunting?

Are you one of the grads of 2014? Congratulations! Finishing post secondary education is definitely an accomplishment to be proud of. It’s now time you entered the workforce. 

The market you’ve graduated in is a tough one, the market is saturated and there is stiff job competition. While you are currently looking for a job, have you thought about what kind of job will satisfy you? Have you thought about what you want in a job? If some of things you value in a career is flexibility, independence and opportunities for growth in character and income, then a career in insurance may be worth exploring. 

At InforceLife, we offer the 6 weeks Life License Qualification Program, a Canadian licensing program for Life Insurance Advisors. Within 6 weeks, you will be trained and ready to take your exam and can start growing in a rewarding career that makes a difference in helping families make informed choices in protecting each other. 

You’ll be even happier to hear that we hire back many of the students that complete the LLQP training to work for us! Call us at (416) 909-0400 to learn more about our current career opportunities and training programs. 

Company offers free university tuition to employees! Guess who?

If you’ve been following the news this week, you would have likely heard the major news story about Starbucks offering to pay post-secondary tuition for its American employees. This is great news for Starbucks employees in America. This tuition supplement will make university an option for those who may have decided against going to university because of the cost. 

In Canada however, we are not so lucky. There are not too many companies thinking about or offering to pay tuition for you or your child. That does not mean that you should not think about it. Tuition is becoming very expensive, and the job prospects after graduation are not too rosy either. 

6 months after university, interest and monthly payments on OSAP and other government loans tend to kick in. Sometimes, students are just getting on their feet at this point, are still searching for a job, or cannot afford their monthly payment back to OSAP. This is all while interest on loans continues to grow. Having to pay back tuition can be a big burden on students just starting up their lives – and this is where having an RESP would ease the burden of tuition by offsetting all or part of tuition costs. 

Don’t you wish you had an RESP when you were in school? 

Is your child interested in becoming a Doctor or Lawyer?

Parents always want their children to succeed, and for this reason, try to encourage their children to follow specific career paths that they believe will offer prestige and a good income. Doctor, lawyers and engineers have long been prescribed for this reason (you may even be a parent that is encouraging your child to become a doctor, lawyer or engineer!).

But, have you stopped to think about how much it would cost to be a doctor or engineer or lawyer? While it may be great to have your child study in either one of these fields, are these fields that are affordable to study?

Let’s have a quick run at the numbers. (For the sake of simplicity, we’ve looked at University of Toronto’s numbers.)

Doctor

$158, 116

Lawyer

$ 91, 371

Did you know the graduating 2014 class has the highest debt of any graduating class from University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law?

Engineer (Materials and Science Engineering)

$ 49, 452

These are just basic numbers for domestic students, if you specialize, do another program, live on residence or anything else, these numbers can just be the tip of the iceberg! Education isn’t cheap!

How much did tuition cost you when you were in school?

Insurance Before Pregnancy

Congratulations! Having a baby is an exciting new step in one’s life. In fact, it is during this time that most new couples decide that their lives are more than they thought. Being a parent brings along new responsibilities and challenges, and it is a time to rethink your life. Here are some things to consider before conceiving:

Dental Insurance

When you are pregnant, it becomes more imperative to take care of your body’s health and needs. That means eating right, exercising right and sleeping right. But it also means getting good health care when needed – for instance, when pregnant, cleaning your teeth becomes more of a need since gum problems and tooth decay are increased during pregnancy. Having the right dental insurance means that you can take care of these changes associated with your body when you need it. 

Life Insurance and Critical Injury Insurance 

Caring for a baby is a big responsibility, and it also means realizing that there is someone totally dependent on you. Protecting your loved ones now means a child. We always hope for the better, but making sure you have the means to take care of your child if something were to happen means getting life insurance to protect yourself and family. 

Health Insurance

Health insurance affects your ability to access medical care – prescriptions for you when you need them. It is however; always better to consider applying for life insurance before pregnancy, as some of the changes to your body may affect your application for life insurance. For example, gestational diabetes can affect your health rating, whereas if you applied before getting pregnant, it would not be an issue. Having health insurance helps provide you with the means to take care of your body when your body needs, so plan ahead.