Notice courtesy of Manulife Financial Group Benefits:

Effective May 1, 2010 all visitors travelling to Cuba will require proof of out-of-country travel health insurance upon landing. If visitors do not hold insurance from an approved carrier/assistance provider at the point of entry into Cuba, they will be required to purchase insurance for the duration of their stay.

Mondial Assistance, Manulife’s out-of-country provider, has a contractual agreement with the Cuban assistance company ASISTUR, and as such is a recognized third party assistance provider. A list of approved health insurance providers had been published by a Cuban news resource, however there has been no confirmation by any Cuban authority of an official list to date.

While the Cuban government has yet to confirm a specific list of recognized carriers, or the specific documentation requirements for proof of insurance, plan members are encouraged to carry with them a copy of their ETA and/or combined ETA/drug (One) card, along with a letter from Mondial Assistance confirming its eligibility. This letter will be posted to the plan member, plan administrator and plan advisor public sites. It will also be available through the customer service centre. You can recognize an ETA card by looking for Mondial Assistance or World Access (the former name of Mondial Assistance) on the card.

These recommendations are based on the information provided by the Cuban authorities to date, however we cannot guarantee that entry will be permitted without the purchase of insurance through a Cuban source. We are hopeful that these two items (ETA card with letter from Mondial) will be sufficient to allow your plan members into Cuba without having to purchase any additional insurance.

For clients who have purchased Manulife’s ETA/Assistance product managed by Mondial Assistance: Given the information provided by the Cuban authorities to date, presentation of their travel assistance or drug card along with a letter confirming Mondial Assistance as a recognized entity should be sufficient for entry without the requirement to purchase additional insurance.

For clients who have not purchased our ETA / Assistance product and are reimbursement based: For reimbursement clients the Cuban authorities may require the purchase of insurance, as reimbursement coverage may not be accepted as a guarantee of payment.

Travellers are required to meet the terms, conditions and eligibility requirements of their travel insurance policy in order for their coverage to be in effect. The requirement to purchase additional coverage does not void or cancel the existing coverage from Manulife.

Though this notice discusses Manulife services, the same concerns will be present with other Canadian provider’s coverage.

When traveling to Cuba, you must carry:

• 1 – Your Provincial Health Card
• 2 – Proof of Insurance – Benefits Card
• 3 – Proof of a contractual relationship with a recognized provider (ETA proof of coverage) – download this confirmation letter from Mondial Assistance

For more information about this new requirement from the Cuban government, visit: Information for travelers to Cuba

If you are planning on traveling to Cuba in the near future and have any questions about your Travel Health Insurance coverage, please contact our office.

You’ve worked hard to find just the right home. Shouldn’t you take the time to find just the right mortgage life insurance protection for you and your family?

Most lending institutions offer mortgage life insurance as part of their mortgage packaging. But, look carefully before you sign on the dotted line. You could find yourself locked into insurance that does more to protect your lender than it does to protect you.

A personal life insurance policy doesn’t insure your mortgage – it insures you. After all, you’re the one making the mortgage payments. Through a personal life insurance policy, you can plan to meet more of your family’s needs in the event of death, including living in your dream home.

Here’s a closer look at how a personal life insurance policy compares to mortgage life insurance offered by most lending institutions.

It’s about being covered

Generally, most lending institutions offer nonconvertible term insurance; with no cash values, no premium flexibility or ability to move to a permanent life insurance plan if your needs change. With personally owned life insurance, you select the plan that meets your financial security goals. Most personally owned term life insurance products are fully convertible to permanent plans; if your health changes and you find it difficult to get life insurance, you can keep the full death benefit and convert your insurance to any permanent plan without having to re-qualify medically.

Mortgage life insurance offered by most lending institutions usually covers the exact amount of your mortgage. This means your coverage decreases as you pay down your mortgage. When the mortgage is paid off, you are left with no coverage. With personally owned life insurance, your financial security advisor will help you determine the amount of coverage you need and your coverage doesn’t decrease as you pay down your mortgage. Additional funds could be available at a time when your family may need it the most. You have the flexibility to reduce the face amount when you want. Or, if you need the protection for other purposes, you can keep the insurance.

It’s about being in control

With mortgage life insurance your lender owns the policy and if you find a better mortgage rate at another lending institution, you may have to re-qualify medically for the life insurance protection. Your mortgage life insurance cannot be moved to another institution. Your lender also pays off the mortgage automatically if you die. Your beneficiary has no choice in how to use the funds, at a time when funds may be required more urgently somewhere else.

With personally owned insurance, you own the policy, not your lender. You have the freedom to switch your mortgage to another lending institution without jeopardizing your life insurance coverage. Your beneficiaries can choose how to use the funds – to pay off the mortgage, provide a monthly income or take care of a more immediate need. It’s their choice, not your lender’s.

A personal life insurance policy doesn’t insure your mortgage – it insures you.

Article courtesy of The Great-West Life Assurance Company.

If your boss walked up to you and offered you a raise, would you say no?

That’s exactly what many Canadians are doing every year.

How much money would you give me if I told you I could double it instantly? Probably as much as you could get your hands on. You put 5% of your paycheque into your own personal RRSP, and your company just gives you the same amount… I’m not a math whiz, but I think I know a good deal when I see it!

There isn’t a lot of financial advice one can give that applies as nearly universally as this: if your company is offering you free money, you should take it. For some younger workers, it’s hard to think of the benefits of putting money away today that you won’t use for 30 or 40 years, but believe me when I say that you will be very happy you did. If you are just entering the workforce now, odds are good that you will be retired for nearly as long as you will be working full time. Decisions you make today will have a huge impact on what kind of life you’ll have.

More and more companies have stopped offering their own internally managed pension funds for their employees. They have seen the consequences of massive financial liabilities of their aging workforce; a 2007 report by the UAW showed General Motors had nearly 270,000 retired members collecting pensions and health benefits, and only 74,000 active employees working to generate the money needed to fund those commitments. Some estimates say that every car GM makes has to add $1,600 to the cost just to pay for their current retired employees. People are living, and collecting benefits, longer than ever before, and these “legacy benefits” are becoming a major issue for companies.

In Canada, it is becoming far more common for businesses to offer “defined contributions” to an employee’s RRSP, instead of a “defined benefit” guaranteeing a certain income level in retirement. Not only does this remove the risk of market performance from the employer (“We gave you the money, you picked the investments!”), but in many cases if the employee chooses not to contribute to his own retirement savings, the company doesn’t have to either! Now the employee has lost out twice.

Canadians are being left in charge of far more of their own retirement savings and lifestyle than ever before, and this rejection of the most effective method of planning for retirement is a serious cause for concern. Perhaps it is a lingering belief of “the company/government will take care of me,” perhaps it’s the feeling of needing to hold on to every penny on the paycheque, that makes employees turn down these offered contributions. Some people only listen as far as “you contribute 5% of your salary…” and they don’t think about what they are giving up in return for that little bit of extra cash in their pocket right now.

If you are working for a company that offers RRSP contributions, and for some reason you aren’t taking every penny available, then I implore you: right now, call your boss/manager/HR department or whomever you need to contact, and get it started. If you don’t understand how it works, then ask them to explain, or give us a call. If you run or manage a company that is considering starting an employee contribution plan (or having problems with your current one), then give us a call. It can be set up and managed very easily, and one of our advisors would be happy to show you.

Photo credit: “Money Hand” by Neubie