Intro to insurance / Q&A Meeting 30-03-2026

Summary

Foresters Financial presentation focused on their unique member benefits model and robust financial position, including an overview of their critical illness products.

Foresters Financial Overview
Foresters Financial, operating for 150 years, maintains a financial strength with a LICAT ratio 50% above the industry average, enabling them to pay claims and reinvest profits. The company operates without shareholders, allowing all profits to be reinvested back into their policyholders, who become members with access to free benefits.

Key Member Benefit Programs
Members receive 11 built-in, free benefits, including community grants such as $400 annually for community service and up to $3,000 for volunteer expenses. Key benefits also include the LawAssure platform for free will creation and over 200 post-secondary school scholarships annually.

Critical Illness Product Offerings
Foresters offers a traditional, fully underwritten Critical Illness (CI) policy covering 26 conditions and a simplified issue CI product covering 8 conditions. The simplified issue product is non-medical, typically issues in 3 to 5 days, and can be used for clients with prior claims.

Details

• Pending Agent Code Activation with Foresters Financial: Kamlesh Vyas raised an issue regarding an inactive agent code with Foresters Financial, despite having a previous contract with the company through which they sold policies. Kamlesh Vyas, who is located in Alberta and Edmonton but also has a license in Ontario, requested assistance from Jeff Simmons to determine if a new agent code is needed. Jeff Simmons agreed to look into the issue internally and committed to connecting Kamlesh Vyas with the appropriate contact person, stating they would take the matter offline.
• Introduction of Foresters Financial and Jeff Simmons: Bernie Lyons formally welcomed Jeff Simmons, Vice President and Director in Ontario for Foresters Financial, noting that Louise Zaviier is a significant supporter of their programs. Jeff Simmons confirmed their role and then prepared to share their screen for the presentation.
• Foresters’ Unique Market Position and LIcat Ratio: Jeff Simmons shared that Foresters has been operating for 150 years and highlighted their financial strength through the LICAT ratio, which measures a company’s cash on hand relative to their liabilities. Foresters’ LICAT ratio is 50% higher than the industry average of 135%, which allows them to effectively pay out claims and reinvest their profits back into the organization.
• The Member Benefit Model of Foresters: Jeff Simmons explained that Foresters is a unique company without shareholders, allowing them to reinvest profits back into their policyholders, who become « members » upon purchasing a policy. Members receive access to 11 different built-in, free member benefits, which is the primary reason top brokers conduct business with Foresters. Jeff Simmons suggested that brokers should focus on marketing one to three of the 11 benefits that resonate most with their specific clients.
• Community Grants and Volunteer Opportunities: One of the four buckets of member benefits is Community grants, including « Foresters Care, » which provides $400 a year ($200 twice annually) that clients can use for community service, such as buying food for schools or coffee for the homeless. Another program offers up to $1,500 twice per year to help pay for expenses related to running a volunteer activity, potentially providing a total annual value of about $3,400.
• LawAssure Platform for Free Wills: LawAssure, one of the well-being benefits, allows clients who purchase a policy to create a will for their family at no extra cost, which could save them between $600 and $1,200 if they were to use a lawyer. Jeff Simmons emphasized that this platform is an excellent tool for generating referrals, as clients are more likely to refer friends and family for a free will than for a life insurance review.
• Post-Secondary School Scholarships: Foresters offers over 200 post-secondary school scholarships annually, primarily targeting students with high 80% averages and a history of community work, which aligns with the company’s family and community-driven focus. Receiving a scholarship, which can be renewed for four years, is another powerful way for brokers to generate referrals and open conversations with prospects.
• Foresters Go Wellness App and Rewards: The « Foresters Go » app is a well-being benefit that rewards clients with points for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, such as sleeping well or exercising. These earned points can be used to purchase rewards like gift cards or Apple Watches.
• Orphan Benefit and Orphan Scholarships: The Orphan Benefit provides $900 per month, per child under 18, to a legal guardian if both parents pass away and at least one parent held a Foresters policy. This benefit is tax-free money and can accumulate significantly; for instance, in one example, it amounted to over $421,000 for three children. Once the children turn 18, they can also apply for Orphan Scholarships of up to $6,000 per year for up to four years.
• Critical Illness (CI) Product Lines: Foresters offers two lines of CI products: a traditional, fully underwritten CI policy that covers 26 different conditions, and a simplified issue CI product. The simplified issue CI product covers eight conditions, which account for 92% of claims, is non-medical, involves only yes-or-no questions, and is typically issued within 3 to 5 days. The member benefits are included with any Foresters product, including CI policies.
• Simplified Issue CI for Clients with Prior Claims: Jeff Simmons confirmed that a client with a previous heart history and critical illness claim could still qualify for one of the simplified issue CI products through Foresters. This type of transaction was noted as a good first piece of business for new Foresters contracts.
• Future Training Topics Requested: Bernie Lyons suggested a future meeting focused on Foresters’ products for « the hard to insure, » such as risk-takers and people who use marijuana. Kamlesh Vyas also requested a presentation on using whole life policies as a retirement tool, noting that it can offer a tax-advantaged income stream via loans against the policy.
• Ideas for Future Meeting Formats: Salwa Khayat suggested that future meetings incorporate different sales techniques and policy customization discussions, using case examples to help attendees understand how to optimize policies for clients, such as dividing coverage between whole life and term life. Kamlesh Vyas described their approach to creating a customized solution for clients by assessing their goals, such as paying off a mortgage or retirement planning, and offering whole life policies as an alternative retirement tool to Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RSP).

Suggested next steps

• Jeff Simmons will figure out internally and offline how to address Kamlesh Vyas’s agent code issue and will make sure Kamlesh Vyas is connected to the right person.
• Jeff Simmons will send the one-page sheet about the Foresters member benefits to the group.
• Bernie Lyons will line up a speaker for the next week’s meeting.
• Jeff Simmons and Bernie Lyons will set up another meeting to focus on the whole life policy for retirement purposes.
• Jeff Simmons and Bernie Lyons will set up another meeting to focus more on products for risktakers and people who use marijuana (the hard to insure market).