June 25, 2020

Summer eBundle Bonus! Earn up to 20% more FYC vs. paper using the Fast & Full® Life App

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Empire Life is pleased to announce a new SUMMER eBUNDLE BONUS for our popular Fast & Full Life App FYC bonus program! At a time when both advisors and their clients are seeking digital options to meet their insurance needs, the Fast & Full Life App has delivered at an unprecedented rate with our simple, fast and easy solutions.

Until September 30, 2020, earn up to 15% or 20% more first year commission (FYC)* as compared to paper applications when you submit Life and Health insurance applications electronically using the Fast & Full Life App and clients select the  eHQ and the eContract Delivery options. See the Information Circular for details or visit the campaign web page to learn more. 

Information Circular

Campaign Web Page

*The additional FYC is bonusable. Available on all life insurance products and applications using the Fast and Full Application. This promotion can be withdrawn by Empire Life at any time.

Offer extended! Earn more commission on Empire Life Guaranteed Investment Funds digital deposits

For a limited time, all Empire Life Guaranteed Investment Funds (GIF) digital deposits will earn an extra 10% commission. This includes GIF applications using the Fast & Full Investment App, Fundserv deposits via Wire Order, additional GIF deposits processed through the Empire Life My Advisor Dashboard and recurring Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD).¹ What's more, submit your first Fast & Full Investment App and receive a $50 bonus on your next commission payment from Empire Life.²

Program extended to September 30, 2020.
The 10% digital commission bonus is available from January 1 to September 30, 2020!

Learn more

1 The campaign will pay an extra commission on all eligible deposits received and processed into Empire Life Guaranteed Investment Funds contracts - GIF 75/75, GIF 75/100 and GIF 100/100 from January 1, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. (ET) to September 30, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. (ET). All existing recurring Pre-Authorized Debits (PADs) as of January 1, 2020 will receive the GIF digital commission bonus.
2 To be eligible for the $50 bonus, your first Fast & Full investment application must be submitted between January 1, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. (ET) and September 30, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. (ET) with the policy issued by 4:00 p.m. (ET) September 30, 2020 as per Bonus Rules. Total bonus reward per advisor is $50 and its value will be included as taxable income for 2020.

From the Desk of the CIO: Moving up the quality scale

In this issue of From the Desk of the CIO, Ian Hardacre shares the qualitative and quantitative factors used to assess high quality companies. Ian also provides examples of securities added to the fixed income, Canadian large cap and international equity mandates.

Read Ian’s article

Did you miss our latest CIO Conference Call on June 17, 2020?

Missed our CIO Conference Call "3 Funds in the Spotlight" on June 17, 2020 or would you like to listen again? The replay is now available.

Go to Replay

Go deeper into Sequence of Returns with our new StepUp series

Peter Wouters has developed a special series of StepUp Newletters to accompany his recent TRIIPSS webinar “Sequence of Returns Risk and Retirement Income Strategies”.

In the opening segment, “The Risk of Longevity”, he will review some of the top investor concerns as they approach retirement and some key risks that impact how long savings and income streams may last.

Download here

In part 2, “Rate of Return and Impact on Accumulation vs. Withdrawal Periods”, he looks at how the order of rates of return may lead to disorder in terms of how long money and income may last during the retirement years.

Download here

In part 3, “When did you get on the rate of return cycle?”, he answers that important question: Does it matter when the pattern of return starts and someone is drawing an income?

Download here

Provincial Health Cards as Identification

Did you know? FINTRAC, our anti-money laundering regulator, no longer wants the financial sector to accept health cards from any province as AML verification of owner ID. 

Going forward, if your client does not have a valid piece of photo ID, such as Driver's License, Passport or Photo ID card in lieu, you will need to use the Dual Method. Note health cards may still be used as proof of age on annuities where permitted provincially.

New on-demand webinar "Guaranteed Lifetime Income: 90% Retirement Income Factor" explores trends in guaranteed income!

Did you know that 98% of aging Canadians want a lifetime income and 73% believe financial advisors have responsibility to discuss guaranteed lifetime products? Join Peter Wouters in this on-demand webinar as he explores trends in guaranteed lifetime income.

Watch the webinar and earn CE credits

Fund Facts updates now complete

Our Fund Facts documents for discontinued products have been updated with financial data as at December 31, 2019. They are now available on our website (please scroll down to the bottom of the page).

Fund Facts for Discontinued Products

Enhanced Life and Health Paper Application with increased Non-Face-to-Face coverage limits

To help ensure you can continue to serve your clients and meet their insurance needs during this unprecedented time, we have updated our Life and Health Insurance Application (D-0082) so that it can now be used for non-face-to-face (NFTF) sales in addition to in-person sales.

Information Circular on updated D-0082

We are also pleased to announce that we have increased coverage limits for paper NFTF applicationsup to $10 million of insurance coverage for life products, $75,000 of Empire Life CI Protect coverage and $2 million of Empire Life CI Protect Plus coverage (per life insured).

Information Circular on increased NFTF coverage limits

Visit our Retail Advisor Updates page for all of the latest COVID-19 updates

NEW Additional Deposit Option (ADO) for Participating Whole Life Plans

We are pleased to announce that a new Additional Deposit Option is now available for eligible EstateMax and Optimax Wealth 10 Pay, 20 Pay and Life Pay plans when selecting Paid-Up Additions or Enhanced Coverage dividend options.

Visit our participating life insurance webpage for highlights including new and updated marketing materials, including a new how-to video on illustrating with ADO. You can also read more details about this new feature in the Information Circular, including plan eligibility and transition rules.

Information Circular

Participating Life advisor webpage

The relationship between COVID-19 and gold

Sara Shahram discusses the relationship between COVID-19 and gold in this Off the Cuff video.

Watch the video

Look to our shining stars

Deliver stellar results to your clients with our disciplined, long term investment management approach that focuses on quality and downside protection.

Learn more

Managing service levels during COVID-19 and how you can help

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way our industry does business. Over the past three months, we have changed many of our policies and procedures to help ensure you can continue to serve your clients and meet their insurance needs. In some cases, these changes have impacted our service levels across our retail insurance operations and led to delays in underwriting and policy issue.

We are working hard to resolve these delays while continuing to prioritize the health, safety and well-being of our employees, customers and business partners. We appreciate the support and patience you have shown during this unprecedented time, and indeed many of you have asked what you can do to help expedite things.

Read the full bulletin

Access the Class Plus 3.0 Illustrator from My Advisor Dashboard

The Class Plus 3.0 Illustrator has now been added to the Quick Links menu on My Advisor Dashboard. Now it's easier than ever to find all the tools you need in one place. Not using My Advisor Dashboard yet? 

Click here to login or register

Suspicious Transaction Reporting

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has updated their timing for reporting Suspicious Transactions from "30 days" to "as soon as practicable".  This change comes into effect on June 1, 2020.

For more information please refer to FINTRACs website