There are a variety of educational options available for advisors in the Canadian marketplace, but only one dedicated to financial planning for children. That’s according to Michael Lampel, founder of MGA insurance for children and host of a series of training programs for advisors keen to learn more about life insurance for kids. The program is a collaboration between Lampel and industry veteran Jim Ruta and has proven popular so far.
“We started doing this about two years ago, then about a year ago I began working with Jim Ruta. Now we have anywhere between 40 and 80 advisors attending to learn about insurance and financial planning for children.”
Those listening to Lampel will hear a passionate advocate for the merits of Child Plan, his firm’s participating whole life insurance offering specifically for children. One of his primary goals currently is increasing awareness for the product, which is over 100 years old but until recently had largely been forgotten by many consumers and providers.
“The most common question we get from families is ‘why don’t we know this exists?’ From where I stand, participating whole life insurance is the best investment for a child’s future that they can use for their education,” he says. “It also gives the family tremendous flexibility to use it for anything beyond that.”
It’s that flexibility that makes Child Plan stand apart from the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), explains Lampel. The government program has criteria regarding how and where funding is used, while there are no such parameters on a whole life plan.
As an investment vehicle, it also holds great allure, something advisors will no doubt be interested in to improve their value proposition with clients.
“A participating whole life plan is 100% tax-free,” says Lampel. “The growth in capital is completely tax sheltered – that’s annual dividends and the transfer of the plan to the children. The family can also decide to hold onto the plan if the child at 18 doesn’t decide to pursue a post-secondary education. If the parents don’t think the child is mature enough to manage what could be over $100,000, they can hold onto it until they are 25 or 30 and then transfer completely tax-free.”
Due to an incredible amount of interest from advisors, our next seminar will be held Sept 13, 2017. If you’re interested in our next “Why Sell Insurance For Children?” seminar or information about becoming a Family Advisor with insuranceforchildren, please contact us at advisors@insuranceforchildren.ca.
Originally posted on HP Life Health Professional by David Keelaghan. Life Health Professional is a free online information resource for all Canadian advice and planning professionals. It focuses on providing the latest industry news, opinion and analysis.