Insight - August 31/15

Preferred Underwriting is now available on Empire Life Solution 10 & 20. Higher coverage may be cheaper than you think with Solution Series term life insurance

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Looking for a fund that combines the comforts of home with the opportunity to invest abroad? The Empire Life Elite Equity GIF invests in Canadian stocks, with flexibility to hold up to 50% global stocks. This flexibility allows us to seize opportunities wherever they may be.

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Our Fast & Full 2015 Summer Sales Contest is still in full swing offering you many chances to qualify for the weekly, monthly and grand prize draws.

Get into the action before September 4th!  Use our simple and convenient Fast & Full Life Application Process and earn rewards during the contest.

For full details including Contest Rules, please click here. 

Did you miss Rick Forchuk's Investment Executive webinar on the insurance gap in Canada? Watch it now!

On April 21, 2015, the federal government announced, as part of its current budget   ("Economic Action Plan 2015"), its plan to reduce the minimum amount that must be withdrawn from Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) for the 2015 and subsequent taxation years.

Visit our website at www.empire.ca to learn more about these changes.

Our retail sales team is moving from two distinct sales teams, to one team under one leader, Paul Holba, who as Vice-President, Retail Distribution will provide direction for both insurance and investment lines of business.

Our new structure is still focused on three regions of Canada, led at the Regional Vice-President level by: Lisa Stewart, West; Walter Kordiuk, Ontario and Atlantic, and Richard Jean, Quebec. Steve Kunzel is appointed RVP, Strategic Alliances and will be focused on building and growing key national distribution partnerships. Mujeeb Hasan, is appointed Director, Inside Sales and will lead our inside sales team and sales centre associates.

We are committed to you, our key distribution partners, and in helping your clients reach their financial goals. Our team structure is designed to deliver the right level and kind of service you need to grow your business. Our team is looking forward to continuing to work with you on the opportunities ahead in our current market. If you have any questions about our new structure, contact your Empire Life sales representative.

What makes participating life insurance ideal for many Canadians is the combination of guaranteed features and cost coupled with the possibility of receiving dividends each year. Consistent returns with a conservative approach have made our participating plans very successful over the years. It is also one of the reasons why we have never failed to pay a dividend in the history of offering this type of  insurance. Our dividend scales interest rate is guaranteed never to fall below zero percent and any dividend, once paid, cannot be taken back.

Check out the Summer 2015 edition of the Quarterly Participating Account Summary for more information.

We have updated our Investment Illustrator featuring Class Plus 2.1 to version 2.4. This update includes the new RRIF minimums announced in the 2015 Federal Budget.

The updated version of the Investment Illustrator can be accessed from the Software Downloads section of our website.

Please refer to this Q&A published by the CRA for additional information on these changes and the impact on the calculation of the minimum RRIF amount.

iGIC is our online GIC application which is fast, easy and available 24/7. Join our online demonstrations Thursdays from 2:00-2:30 pm and receive a complemintary water bottle to refresh yourself. Discover how iGIC can refresh your GIC business this summer!

Register here >

We have updated our D-0082 Life and Health Insurance application. The new version date is June, 2015. As the changes are minor, we will continue to ship old stock until depleted.

Please note there is a discrepancy on the updated form regarding eligibility ages for Personal History Tele-Interview (PHI).  The instructions on the application indicate a maximum age of 60. The correct age for insureds is between 18 and 75 years of age.

The next release of the application will address this discrepancy and will show the correct age requirements. Please refer to the Life Insurance - Underwriting Requirements chart for all age and amount requirements.

We are excited to introduce a process for our advisors to conduct non-face-to-face sales using a paper Life & Health application. A new application, Non-Face-to-Face Term and Critical Illness Insurance Application has been developed and will be available to assist in non-face-to-face sales as of August 4, 2015.

For more details, check our information circular.

For your convenience we have updated the application insert for our Guaranteed Investment Funds 75/75 and 75/100 to now include the fund codes for both of these products.  
Applications containing the updated insert also are available on the Printable Applications section of our website.

Make sure your application is submitted for the 2015 National Quality Award. Follow these steps and ensure your application is received at Empire Life by August 31 2015.

Visit the Advocis website to download your application and complete the appropriate sections.
- Mail the completed application to Empire Life, 259 King St East, Kingston ON  K7L 3A8 Attention: Dealer Services or Email a scan of the completed application to dealerservices@empire.ca

Once received, we will complete the application and submit it to Advocis. A confirmation will also be sent to you.

We are pleased to offer our customers the ability to use the value in their Empire Life investment policies to make payments on their insurance policies with us. Please see the information circular for all the details.

This is a reminder that for 2015, the deposit limit for Class Plus 2 policies is $25,000.

Not sure how much has already been deposited? You can access the transaction history on the Business Centre to check the year to date deposit activity .  This will help to avoid processing delays and the need to follow up for new investment instructions.

All of our Fund Facts documents have been updated with financial data as of December 31, 2014.

The INV-941 - Fund Facts for Empire Life GIF 75/75, 75/100, 100/100 and Class Plus 2.1.  Please destroy any existing stock you have and reorder.
INV-896 - Fund Facts for Fund Class J (Class Plus 2)
INP-100 - Fund Facts for Fund Classes A to H (Elite, Elite XL, Empire Class and Class Plus)

Closed Fund Facts - Fund Facts for Premier Equity, Equity Fund #3, and the Concordia and Concord Segregated Funds.
The INV-896 and INP-100 are no longer available for order. Please destroy any existing stock of the INV-896 and INP-100 you may have.

These Fund Facts are only available on our web site at:
http://www.empire.ca/consumer/investments/our-funds/en/

The GP-0039 Option Plus Group RSP Segregated Fund Highlights will be available shortly.

Did you know that... some banks, including RBC and Desjardins, allow their customers to print a void cheque from their Web Banking sites?  Customers also have the option to print their bank account information from most banks’ sites.

Specimen cheques or printed account information, which includes the transit, bank and account numbers, must be submitted with new applications and bank change requests.