Commonly Asked Questions

Health, occupation, and lifestyle questions are asked upfront, giving you greater certainty at claim time. Insurance products distributed by YAM Financial Solutions are underwritten by the carriers we are contracted with.

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YAM is here to support your family and their needs if the worst happens. We will work with your beneficiary to guide them through processes and completing documentation. The claim is submitted to your chosen insurance company, who reviews the case.

We protect Canadian families with life insurance. Whether it be term or perm, we are using technology to streamline the process of accessing the right policy for you and your family. Let YAM’s proprietary tool do the work of searching across hundreds of complex policy languages to offer the best-suited options for your needs.

Your policy starts as soon as you start paying premiums and you can cancel it just as easily by stopping payments and letting your insurer know. Depending on the kind of policy you can be entitled to a cash value from your contributions.

There are several different term insurance plan periods available with this type of life insurance policy. You can set up a term insurance plan for 10, 15, 20, 25 and 35 years or you can set up a custom plan with your insurance carrier.

A term plan can also be added as an optional rider to many permanent life insurance plans, then dropped when it’s no longer needed.

When you decide on a term insurance policy, you can choose between two plan types below:

1. Automatically renews for the same term period at each renewal.
2. Automatically renews for a 1-year term period after the initial term.

A premium is the cost of holding a term insurance policy, which you pay monthly or annually to your insurance company. The premium will vary based on your term policy period, your age, health and life expectancy at the time you set up your plan.

While a term insurance plan is often much less pricey than a permanent insurance plan, the premium paid out will increase each time it is renewed once the term period is over.

For the first year, the insurance rate for your life insurance policy will not change but will rise at renewal time. For example, say you pick a 15-year term insurance policy at a rate of $30 a month. After 15 years, you will need to renew your term policy, at which time the premium will increase.

The longer the term of the policy, the higher the policyholder’s premium for the term period (this applies to initial and renewal terms).

There are several advantages to having a term life insurance plan. The main benefit to a term plan is the low initial costs on short-term policies.

For example, if you are in the market for a short-term plan insurance plan (10 or 15 years), your premium will be lower compared to a longer-term plan (20 + years).

There are several downsides to a term insurance policy, including:

• Premiums rise drastically every time the policyholder renews the policy for the same term period (specific number of years).
• Renewed annual plans after the 1-year term mark become pricey. (i.e., premiums increase)
• Most term plans expire before life expectancy, at age 75 or 85 years of age.
• Life insurance needs evolve and outlast the initial term of the policy.

You may choose a term life insurance plan, if you:

• Have temporary, short-term needs (mortgage, debt, children’s education fund)
• Require an affordable monthly or annual premium
• Require flexibility in a life insurance plan
• Have a beneficiary that will receive a tax-free death benefit up until the policy’s expiry period

The policyholder pays the minimum required premium (or more, subject to the maximum amount allowed under the Income Tax Act).

The cost of insurance (COI) charges is deducted each month. COI options are Level or Yearly Increasing (YRT) and fully paid up to the age of 100.

A good candidate for a Universal Life insurance policy is someone who wants a permanent life insurance plan with evolving needs and additional tax efficient pre-funding.

When the policy’s contract expires, there are quick pay options (Level for 10, 15 or 20 years).

If you have a permanent policy like a Whole Life insurance plan and you need the cash, you can cancel (surrender) the policy.

Cash surrender values allow for policy loans, automatic premium loans (if a premium is missed), third-party borrowing (using the policy as collateral) and cash surrenders when a portion or all the permanent life insurance policy is cancelled.