Insurance

Life settlements: Investing in mortality

There’s a relatively new product out there for pension plans and high net worth investors seeking stable returns with relatively low volatility. But it comes with a hitch—it’s about cashing in on death. In the U.S., at least, there is a growing industry in life settlements. Older policyholders may decide that, after years of paying […]

By Scot Blythe |June 25, 2010

3 min read

Doubt and designations

The recent spotlight on financial products hasn’t been limited to complex mortgage-backed products. Insurance-based products have had their share of recent attention, especially when it comes to beneficiary designations. Several court cases involving beneficiary designation disputes underscore the importance of reviewing these designations and ensuring that they are up-to-date and in accordance with a client’s […]

June 21, 2010

9 min read

Pitching disability coverage

Picture this: You have a client – 10 years away from retirement – who comes to you for retirement advice. You spend several hours, maybe a full day with him, going over many different retirement scenarios. At the end of this exercise, you prepare a plan that is as thick as a phone book. In […]

By Jim Otar |June 8, 2010

3 min read

Understanding sleep apnea

Although the first detailed description of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) only appeared in the 1960s, its characteristics were described well before this in the works of Shakespeare and Dickens. The best known of these descriptions is Dickens’ portrayal of Joe, the sleepy fat servant boy of The Pickwick Papers (1837). ‘Fat Joe’ had such excessive […]

By Carmela Tedesco |June 3, 2010

6 min read