Life insurance built around your family, not a template
If someone depends on your paycheck, life insurance isn't optional — it's the plan.
Working with an independent life insurance advisor means the recommendation starts with your family's numbers rather than a product someone needs to move. We size the coverage, compare what different carriers will actually issue you, and explain the trade-offs without the jargon.
How much coverage you actually need
The honest answer is not a multiple of salary pulled off a chart. It is what it would cost to keep your family's life recognizable: the mortgage cleared, the income replaced for as long as it is needed, the education plans intact, the final expenses covered. We work that figure out with you, then look at what it costs — and if the full number is out of reach today, we cover the most important part now and build from there.
Term, whole and indexed universal life
Term is the cheapest way to cover a defined window — the years with a mortgage and children at home — and it expires. Whole life costs considerably more and lasts your whole life, building guaranteed cash value. Indexed universal life sits between them: permanent coverage with cash value linked to a market index, with a floor that limits losses and a cap that limits gains. Each does something different well. The wrong question is which is best; the right one is which fits what you are protecting.
Living benefits: coverage you don't have to die to use
Many modern policies include riders that let you draw on the death benefit while you are still alive if you are diagnosed with a qualifying critical, chronic or terminal illness. It is one of the most useful developments in the product and one of the least understood. We check what a policy actually includes, because the wording differs sharply between carriers and the marketing rarely does.
Common questions about life insurance
- How much life insurance do I actually need?
- It depends on what would have to keep being paid for if your income stopped: the mortgage balance, the years of income your family would need, education costs, and final expenses. A rule of thumb like ten times salary is a starting point, not an answer. We work out the real figure with you in the free analysis.
- Is term or whole life better?
- Neither is better in the abstract. Term covers a defined window cheaply and then ends, which suits mortgage-and-children years. Whole life costs more, lasts for life, and builds guaranteed cash value. Many families end up with both — term for the temporary need, permanent coverage for the permanent one.
- I already have coverage through work. Isn't that enough?
- It is a good start and usually not enough. Employer coverage is typically one to two times salary, and it almost always ends when the job does — often at exactly the moment you are least able to replace it. A personal policy stays with you regardless of employer.
- Will I need a medical exam?
- Not always. Many carriers now offer accelerated underwriting that uses prescription and medical databases instead of an exam for applicants in reasonable health. Where an exam is required, it is usually a short visit at your home or office.
- What happens if my health has changed?
- Options narrow but rarely disappear. Carriers underwrite very differently from one another, which is where working with an independent advisor matters most — we can approach the carriers most likely to look favourably on your particular history rather than taking a single company's answer as the answer.
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Start with the analysis, not the product
It's free, there's no obligation, and you'll leave knowing exactly where you stand — whether or not life insurance turns out to be the right next step.
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