Life Insurance

Protecting Loved Ones:
Life’s Assurance

Securing your family’s future starts with life insurance. Take the first step in this emotional journey by assessing your needs and exploring policies that resonate with your values. With life insurance, you’re gifting peace of mind and a legacy of care that lasts forever.

father holds baby on shoulders while mom bends in to kiss the baby on the cheek

Life insurance is a type of insurance that pays a sum of money to one or more beneficiaries when the insured person dies. The purpose of life insurance is to provide financial protection and security to the loved ones of the insured person, who may depend on their income or support. The amount of money that the beneficiaries receive depends on the type and amount of life insurance that the insured person purchased and paid premiums for during their lifetime.

benefits

15, 20, 25 year
term coverage

coverage

up to $500k term

Get a Quote

There are different types of life insurance available, such as term life insurance, whole life insurance, and universal life insurance. Each type has its own features, benefits, and costs. Term life insurance provides coverage for a specific period of time, such as 10, 20, or 30 years. If the insured person dies within that period, the beneficiaries will receive the death benefit. If the insured person outlives the term, the coverage will end and no benefit will be paid. Whole life insurance provides coverage for the entire lifetime of the insured person, as long as they pay the required premiums. The premiums are usually fixed and do not increase over time. Whole life insurance also has a cash value component, which is a savings account that grows over time and can be accessed by the policyholder. Universal life insurance is similar to whole life insurance, but it offers more flexibility in terms of premiums, death benefit, and cash value. The policyholder can adjust these elements according to their needs and preferences.

Life insurance can be a valuable tool for planning your financial future and protecting your family from unexpected expenses and losses. However, it is important to understand how life insurance works, what are your options, and how much coverage you need.

A segregated fund (seg fund) is an investment, a type of insurance product, and estate planning tool all in one. Here’s a quick rundown of the basics.

A seg fund is a type of investment that lets you participate in the markets. Like mutual funds, seg funds pool investors’ money together. Pooling creates economies of scale to give you investment opportunities that might not be available to you as an individual investor.

Seg fund products also have an insurance component and are formally referred to as “individual variable insurance contracts.” The insurance component of the contract provides additional features like estate planning advantages, potential creditor protection, and death benefit and maturity guarantees that can help protect your initial investment against market drops.

Because your seg fund contract is a type of insurance contract, you get to name a beneficiary (or more than one) who receives the fund assets as an inheritance when you pass away. The money in the fund bypasses your estate and goes directly to your beneficiary without going through probate1 — the legal process that certifies a will and transfers assets to heirs. Here’s why that’s such a good thing:

  • Speed — It can take six to 12 months to settle an estate, longer if there are court delays. With segregated fund contracts, the money is usually paid within two weeks.
  • Lower costs — Bypassing the estate means avoiding accounting, legal, and administration fees, as well as probate. These fees can add up quickly.
  • Privacy — Wills may become public documents and the information in them can easily get out. Segregated fund contracts are private.2
  • Protection — Having the death benefit bypass the estate offers potential protection from estate creditors and court challenges to a will.
  • Control — Manulife Investment Management seg funds let you specify how you want the wealth paid — as a lump sum or gradually over time. This is called the annuity settlement option and you can learn more about it here.

Just as with mutual funds, you can choose from equity, fixed income, and balanced seg funds, as well as managed portfolios that give you professional asset allocation. And, like mutual funds, you can choose to hold seg funds in a non-registered account or one of our many tax-advantaged registered plans:

  • Registered Retirement Savings plan (RRSP)
  • Tax-free Savings Account (TFSA)
  • Retirement Income Fund (RIF)
  • Locked-in Retirement Account (LIRA)
  • Life Income Fund (LIF)

Manulife even offers a specialized segregated fund RESP for people who are saving for a child’s education.

Your advisor will work with you to help you choose the type of investment and plan that’s right for you based on your goals and life stage. Keep in mind that, like all investment options, there are costs associated with segregated fund contracts. These include but are not limited to management fees, insurance fees, operating costs, and sales tax. Some contracts may also include a charge for early withdrawal.