Exempt Policy Status

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

...Thinking of buying permanent insurance?...

here are, broadly speaking, two forms of life insurance: term and permanent. With permanent insurance, sometimes called whole life insurance and other variations, the premiums paid to the insurer create an investment fund for the policyholder. The fund earns investment income and is generally not subject to federal or provincial income tax provided the policy qualifies as an "exempt policy" under the Income Tax Act.

The rules on what is or isn't an exempt policy are complex and best left to the insurer; however, before signing a policy be sure the agreement specifies the insurer will monitor your policy's status and they will ensure it maintains its exempt status.

Why do this? If your policy loses its exempt status it will be subject to income tax and would therefore create a significant tax problem.

Posted 2009/02/17 at 12h06ET in Estate Planning.

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