December 21, 2015

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E-L Financial solidifies long-term interest in Empire Life

Our parent company, E-L Financial announced it has agreed to purchase Guardian Assurance Limited's 19% share of the holding company E-L Financial Services Limited (ELFS) for approximately $200 million.  As a result of this agreement, E-L Financial will own 100% of ELFS, which owns 98.3% of Empire Life.

"For years, Empire Life has been an important long-term investment for E-L Financial,” said Duncan Jackman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of E-L Financial in the news release. “We are very excited about being able to increase our stake in this great company and reinforce our continued commitment to its ongoing success.”

CLHIA Guideline G18 “ Insurer-MGA Relationships”

As you know, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) released Guideline G18 “Insurer-MGA Relationships” to help insurers and MGAs address regulator recommendations outlined in the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators’ (CCIR) position paper “Strengthening the Life MGA Distribution Channel”.

CLHIA member insurers are expected to comply with Guideline G18 and are working to clarify MGAs roles and responsibilities in light of Guideline G18 through contract changes and notices. Please refer to Information Circular 2015-37 for more details.

Mutual Fund distribution estimates available

Visit the Empire Life Investments website for our mutual fund distribution estimates. They are based on income and capital gains earned by the Funds in the taxation year to October 30, 2015. Actual distributions will be based on income and capital gains earned by the Funds to December 15, 2015.

Class Plus 2.1. The gift that keeps on giving guaranteed retirement income for life

This festive season, give your clients the gift of guaranteed retirement income for life with Empire Life Class Plus 2.1.

- 5% Annual Income Base Bonus* builds income                                                    potential (Not prorated.)
                                      - 4% LWA at age 65
                                      - Automatic Income Resets mean client’s income may                                           be bumped up
                                      - Potential for higher growth with 3 investment options                                            offering up to 80% equity exposure
                                     - Death Benefit Guarantee, Income Base and Bonus                                               Base reset automatically every 3 years
                                     - Excess Withdrawal Alert service to safeguard clients’                                          guaranteed income

Talk to your Empire Life Investments Sales representative and click here for more info and a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card.

* Income Base Bonus is a notional amount added to the Income Base at the end of each calendar year if no withdrawals are made for that year.

DBRS confirms our “A” Issuer Rating and assigns Financial Strength Rating of “A”

DBRS has confirmed its Issuer Rating of “A”  and Subordinated Debt rating of A (low) for Empire Life and assigned our company a Financial Strength Rating of “A”.  All ratings have a Stable trend. Read the news release.

Year-end cut-off for Class Plus 2.1

Provided there are no withdrawals in 2015, we will apply a notional 5% Income Base Bonus to the Income Base.  The year end cut-off for deposits into Class Plus 2.1 is December 31, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. E.S.T.  This includes FundSERV trades.
Unsettled wire order purchases placed before December  31, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. E.S.T. will qualify for the Income Base Bonus, and the LWA will be adjusted when the trade settles.

SimpleQuote Now Available for Download from the App Store

We are pleased to announce that our SimpleQuote Insurance Quick Quote apps for both the iPhone and the iPad are now available for download from the App Store. And, the new version of the SimpleQuote apps is fully compatible with Apple's new operating system iOS9.1.

SimpleQuote allows you to quote rates and create compliant illustrations for Empire Life Solution 10, Solution 20 and Solution 100 life insurance products directly from your iPhone or iPad, with the ability to instantly display illustrations for clients or send them the illustration by email. 

To download the app, go to the Apple Store and search for SimpleQuote. Check it out!

Fast & Full Life Application v3.2 – New Features Update

As part of our commitment to continuously improve our electronic sales process based on feedback from our advisor community, Empire Life is pleased to inform you of the latest updates to the Fast & Full Life App. (version 3.2) that integrates our original Fast & Full Life App. with our recently launched Fast & Full Life App. (version 3.1). Please refer to Information Circular 2015-35 for more details.

Non-Face-to-Face Sales process

We are pleased to announce that we no longer require pre-approval for advisors to conduct a non-face-to-face (NFTF) life sale. We have also eliminated the need for advisors and MGAs to sign a Non-Face-To-Face addendum and MGAs are no longer required to pre-approve advisors before participating in non-face-to-                                          face sales

 Please refer to this Information Circular for more                                               details.

Holiday hours and year-end deadlines

Don't miss our holiday hours of operation and year-end cut-off dates for Retail business.
Read Information Circular 2015-31 for all dates and times.

2016 weekly advisor pay schedule

Read Information Circular 2015-32 for the cut-off and pay dates for 2016. In order for commissions to be reflected on each pay, all outstanding requirements must be in Head Office and the policy settled by these dates.

GIC Reinvestment Reports on The Business Centre

Did you know you that there is a Servicing Report available on our Business Centre that can help you better service your customers who have Guaranteed Interest Options that are coming up for reinvestment?

The Servicing Report “By GI Cert Reinvestment Date” allows you to customize a report by choosing options such as length of time to Reinvestment Date, Product Type, Plan Type, and Tax Status.  It provides your customers’ account numbers, the Guaranteed Interest Option coming up for reinvestment with its corresponding term, interest rate, and expected maturity value.

The report can be easily exported to Excel giving you access to the information in a flexible format.  Please contact Customer Service at 1 800 561-1268 if you have any questions regarding this report or other reinvestment inquiries.

Introducing our re-designed Empire Life Investments social media suite for our blog, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

The blog now includes our new “Off the Cuff” videos series featuring timely market commentaries and updates from our Investment Team. 
Check out and subscribe to our blog, follow us on Twitter and connect with us on LinkedIn.
Empire Life Investments blog
Empire Life Twitter page 
Empire Life LinkedIn

Revised Life Applications

We have updated our Life and Health Insurance Application (D0082).
See Information Circular 2015-30 for a summary of key changes.

Tip of the Week

Did you know by helping your clients complete the following sections of a non registered investment application it will help us settle your business more quickly and efficiently?

a) Purpose of investment
b) Occupation or Former Occupation, if Retired – Please be specific
c) Identification of Individual and Corporate Owners
d) Third Party Interests – Must answer Yes or No. If Yes, complete all fields.
e) Both FATCA questions