Apr 24, 2018 | News
Where did my courses go?
FRANÇAIS
If your courses no longer appear in the courses dropdown in the top menu of your ILScorp account, your courses may have expired.
ILScorp courses are available for a specific amount of time from the date of purchase. CE course subscriptions and individual courses are available for 6 months from the date of purchase, CAIB Courses have 4 months’ access and Level 1 Licensing for 3 months, all with unlimited amount of access. If you log into your ILScorp profile and do not see any courses listed under the “My Courses” tab, you can renew / purchase your course subscription from the ILScorp Course Catalog, or by choosing your subscription category here. Once your purchase is complete, you will have immediate access to your courses.
How do I register for more online insurance courses?
To renew your subscription or register for a licensing course simply:
- Go to www.ilscorp.com
- Do not log in – find the course you wish to take off the homepage and click ‘Buy Now’
- If you are a returning user – enter your current username/password – click ‘Sign In’ (Do not make a new account)
- If you are a new user – create a new account and fill in all applicable information – click ‘Submit Information’
- Enter your credit card information as it appears on your billing statement
How do I access my online insurance courses once I am registered?
To access your courses simply:
- Log in with your username and password on www.ilscorp.com
- Go to ‘My Courses’ on the top tab
- Choose a course category, and a click on a course title within that category to begin taking courses
Apr 9, 2018 | News
Creative Uses of Life Insurance, Split Beneficiary Planning
This new Life/A&S course is now available and included as part of your ILS LIFE/A&S Course Subscription.
In this course, learn how in certain cases Split Beneficiary Planning allows for cash extractions (free of dividend tax) from the corporation in excess of actual policy premiums; how a separate and well drafted Split Beneficiary Agreement is required, including a defendable pricing model likely using NCPI as the source cost; and that specialized legal and tax advice may be needed before implementing such planning.
This course breaks down as follows:
- Part 1: Corporations & Insurance
- Part 2: Disruptions to Corporate Owned Insurance
- Part 3: Agreements on the Use of Insurance with Corporations
- Part 4: The Pricing Models
SAMPLE COURSE MATERIAL
Corporate Insurability
1.Key Man Insurance. In the event of the death of a key employee, a corporation could sustain material financial hardship. Key Man Insurance provides funding to assist the corporation maintain working capital balances in the transition period after death.
2.Shareholder Agreements. Shareholder agreements govern actions between shareholdings in the event of the death of a shareholder. Some agreements obligate the corporation to redeem the shares in what is called a “Corporate Redemption or Corporate Repurchase”. Insurance in this context provides the needed funds to repurchase the deceased’s shares.
3.Loan Offset Insurance. Sometimes creditors of a corporation will ask that key people are insured. Should they pass away, the insurance is used to repay corporate loans.
4.Buy-Out Insurance. Similar to shareholder agreements, corporations that transition owner-managers (key people) will often insure one or both parties (acquirer and/or purchaser) so that financial exposure during the acquisition period is covered by insurance.
Corporate Funded Insurance – Benefits
While Living:
1.A corporation (with an insurance interest) is allowed to pay insurance premiums.
2.Corporate paid premiums are normally a “non-deductible expense” (called an “add-back” on the corporate tax return).
3.This allows payment of insurance AFTER corporate income tax but BEFORE personal dividend tax.
MORE INFO ON COURSE
Apr 2, 2018 | News
ILScorp CAIB Exam Prep Virtual Classroom Programs are a combination of structure and flexibility.
ILScorp Virtual Classroom programs are built on a structure of daily assignments and due dates that you must meet, whether it’s taking an online chapter quiz; completing daily questions; watching weekly review videos; or participating in a discussion with fellow classmates. However, within the virtual classrooms structure you have the freedom to choose the best times to participate that sync with your individual schedule. Moderated by long-time insurance educator Todd Hochban, the ILS Virtual Classroom Programs prepare you to write your insurance licensing exam in just four weeks, sending your insurance career to new heights!
The ILScorp Virtual Classrooms are completed entirely online, and are ideal for students who benefit from learning in a more structured atmosphere with daily tasks and outlines. Within the 4 week program each day is broken down in a calendar showing what course material to cover and questions assigned to answer. There is no set “classroom time” – the daily video course material, tasks and questions can be completed at your convenience, using the calendar as a guideline to keep you on track during the 4 weeks. Through an online discussion forum you will have access to the answers of your daily assigned questions, as well as the ability to ask the instructor your own questions. Every Friday you receive a review video which summarizes the material covered during the week. Once your 4 week program is complete, you can access your course material for a full 3 months. (3 months after the end date of the virtual classroom) This ensures you can review your material until you feel you are fully prepared to write your exam. ILScorp recommends a minimum study time of 80 to 120 hours.
With a 4 week CAIB exam prep virtual classroom program you’ll receive:
- Online streaming video course with unlimited access. Log in and out as many times as you need, with the ability to pause, rewind and review
- A daily assisted learning calendar that outlines material covered each day to keep you on schedule
- Access to an online discussion forum where daily answers to questions are posted
- Weekly practice exams and review videos
- Live support!
Register Today
Classes run:
Apr 2 – Apr 27,
May 14 – Jun 8,
Jun 18 – Jul 13
Aug 6 – Aug 31
Sept 10 – Oct 5
Oct 22 – Nov 16
Dec 3 – 28
Mar 22, 2018 | News
Retirement Success in Canada a course designed to introduce you to the topic of Canadian retirement income.
In this new course on Retirement Success in Canada you will be introduced to each of the “three pillars” that make up the replacement income of most Canadian retirees and the issues and solutions surrounding them.
In the beginning we cover the first pillar of Canadian Retirement Savings, the Old Age Security program.
OAS Pension and Benefits are paid out according to:
- Canadian Residency Status & History
- Age
On top of being subject to income tax, OAS Pension benefits are subject to a recovery tax that is 15% of the amount a beneficiaries income surpasses the minimum threshold.
As a retiree’s income rises, the OAS benefit amount lowers. While the OAS may recover up to 50% of an individual’s pre-retirement salary of $20,000, it will only recover 4-5% of an individual’s pre-retirement annual income of $100,000.
If we are aiming for a recovery ratio of 60% – 70%, individuals across all income levels need additional sources of retirement income.
In lesson 2 we are introduced to the second pillar of Canadian Retirement Savings: Mandatory Pension Plans. Which are broken into public & private categories.
Canada has a mandatory contribution pension plan called the CPP (QPP in Quebec). This plan is funded by taking a percentage of all contributors pensionable earnings, and pays a monthly pension upon retirement as well as other income-replacement benefits.
The CPP/QPP retirement benefit does not have a claw-back tax like the OAS and provides a larger retirement benefit to those who have contributed more.
In Lesson 3 we learn about Private Pension Plans (RPPs). These employer-provided, mandatory-contribution plans come in two flavors: Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution
Like the CPP/QPP plans, RPPs reward long contribution histories and high contribution amounts. Thus, RPPs benefit those with a long history of high income the most.
However, as of 2015, only 32.2% of Canada’s labor-force was covered by a registered private pension plan. Given the inadequacy of the OAS and CPP programs to meet most Canadians retirement goals, it is clear another source of retirement income is needed.
Retirement savings & income will look different for everybody.
Those who do not have an employer-provided pension plan will need to focus more on contributing to their RRSP & TFSA.
Those who do have employer-provided pension plan’s will be rewarded for staying with their employer longer.
Those with higher incomes will receive larger benefits from their CPP and Employer-Provided Pensions.
Those with lower incomes will receive larger benefits from OAS/GIS benefits.
Ultimately, retirement savings should start early, and be contributed to regularly. No one pillar will provide sufficient retirement income, a multi-pillar approach is always necessary.
More info on course:
https://www.ilscorp.com/retirement-success-in-canada/
Credit Hours: 4
Credit Type: Life/A&S
Credit #: AIC 47764 MB 29959
Accrediting Provinces: BC, AB, SK, MB, ON
Mar 7, 2018 | News
4 New Life/A&S CE
Understanding, Analyzing and Interpreting Financial Statements
This course is included as part of your ILS LIFE/A&S Course Subscription
A financial statement provides a record of the financial activities and positions of a business during a period of time. These statements represent a means of communicating a given business’s financial information to different parties who then can base their decisions on the statistics provided. Note that a proper understanding of financial statements is paramount to an individual’s ability to make informed decisions including whether to invest in or grant credit to a business.
In addition, financial statements can help a business owner or shareholder evaluate the performance of the business over a particular period. This is very useful for a business owner since it helps them to evaluate what changes should be made to enhance business processes, or even could be used to determine what bonuses paid to management would be justified
Throughout this course, some basic accounting concepts will be covered that are a prerequisite for you to achieve a proper understanding of financial statements. Accounting is the first language of business and achieving a comprehension of the accounting techniques covered in this course will certainly pay dividends when it comes to interpreting financial statements.
This course covers the following topics:
-
- Introduction to Financial Statements
- Assumptions and Principles of Financial Statements
- Overview of the 3 Financial Statements
- Cash Flow Statement
- Financial Statement Ratio’s
- Basic Fundamental Analysis
- Applications for Investing using Financial Statements
Become an ILScorp group member to save even more.
Included as part of the ILScorp Life/A&S CE Subscription.
Access Duration from the Date of Purchase: 6 months
Credit Hours: 4
Credit Type: Life/A&S
Credit #: AIC #47532; MB #29899
Accrediting Provinces: BC, AB, SK, MB, ON
Sample of course material:
Users of Financial Statements
Users of financial statements can broadly be put into two categories: internal users and external users.
Internal Users
These individuals use financial information to plan, organize and run companies. Usually, they work for the company and hold positions such as financial directors, marketing executives, human resource directors and production managers.
Questions these users might ask are:
- Do we have enough cash to pay our bills?
- How much should we spend on marketing to maximize profits?
- What price should we sell our products at to maximize profits?
- How many people should we hire, or can we afford our existing employees?
- Which product is the most profitable?
To answer these questions, internal users may seek to compare the profitability of business segments over time, analyze costs and forecast sales for a defined timeframe. The value of undertaking these types of activities is always conditional on the accuracy of the financial statements, and the internal user’s understanding of its components.
External Users
These users are not a part of the business and thereby view the company from a distance. Key examples of these types of users include investors and creditors.
Investors will use the contained financial information to determine whether the business represents a worthwhile investment. Similarly, creditors will use financial information to decide if they should lend money to a company, based on their analysis of whether the company can reasonably be expected to repay its debts or not.
In addition to these two standard examples, other external users include labour unions who use financial statements to decide whether a reporting company is paying employees a fair amount, or potential employees who may use financial statements to evaluate job prospects.
Business Activities Recorded in Financial Statements
Businesses engage in three types of activities: Financing, Investing and Operating. These activities are all recorded on financial statements so that stakeholders can analyze them. We provide a description of each below:
Financing Activities
To operate, a business needs to spend money. There are two ways to raise money: the company can borrow money from creditors (debt financing) or it can sell shares to investors in exchange for cash (equity financing).
Selling shares is less risky than taking on debt. Note that debt holders must be paid back before shareholders; therefore, debt holders have a right to the company’s resources before shareholders. If a company cannot repay its debt, then the company will be liquidated and the debt holders will receive the amount that they are owed. In this situation, once the debt holders are paid, shareholders receive the remaining assets, if any remain.
In contrast, once shares are issued a company is not obligated to repay shareholders for their investment, though they often do so. Many companies pay a shareholder a return on their investment so long as creditors have been paid. These shareholder payments are called dividends. Generally, dividends take the form of cash, but they can be paid through other means such as the granting of additional common stocks to common shareholders.
Investing Activities
Money raised from financing activities may then be invested, which is often the primary reason for raising money. Investing activities involves the purchase of assets to be used for business operations. Assets are resources that the company owns and controls. An asset is purchased to provide an economic benefit to the company.
Examples of assets include computers, machines, equipment, land and vehicles. Together these types of assets are called property, plant and equipment or PPE. Other examples of assets are intangible assets such as Goodwill. Goodwill is the difference between the prices a company pays for an acquisition and the net value of the acquisitions assets.
Operating Activities
Now that the business has the required assets, it can undertake operations. The company uses the assets it bought to create goods that can be sold to consumers. The cash it receives for these goods is referred to as revenue.
The company also must pay for the materials that go into the production of these goods. These material costs are listed as expenses and often called Cost of Goods Sold.
Summary
- Financing Activities: the act of borrowing money from lenders or issuing equity to investors so that the cash created can be directed to investing activities.
- Investing Activities: the purchasing and disposing of assets that are to be used in operating activities.
- Operating Activities: the day-to-day operations of a business that result in revenues and expenses.
Jan 1, 2018 | News
ILScorp’s New Location
It’s with great pleasure to let you know that we have relocated to a beautiful and spacious new location.
Our new address is:
Unit #104
1829 Beaufort Avenue
Comox, BC. Canada
V9M 1R9
However, our phone number remains the same at 1-800-404-2211.
Our primary email address is also still the same info@ilscorp.com
Since we first opened our doors in 1991, our customers loyal business and support is one of the main reasons why we’ve grown so much over the years. We’ve been searching for the ideal location and are happy to tell everyone that we’ve finally found it!
As of November 30, 2017, we are no longer at our Ryan Road address. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have concerning the new location on Beaufort Avenue or our services.
We look forward to working with you at our new address!
Sincerely,
Dana Barr
General Manager
ILScorp
dana@ilscorp.com
