Skip to content
Ravi Soni

Process & disclosure

How I work, and how I am paid.

Six steps, no fee, and a commission arrangement written down before you sign anything. If that sounds unremarkable, compare it to the last time someone sold you a policy.

The six steps

  1. 01

    A twenty-minute conversation

    Phone, video or coffee. I ask what worries you and what you already have. You are not asked for a single document. Most people find out here that they need less than they feared.

  2. 02

    A picture of what already exists

    Group life and disability through work, an old policy from a previous employer, a mortgage insurance product from the bank, unused TFSA and RRSP room. I count all of it before proposing anything.

  3. 03

    A written needs analysis

    What your household would owe if an income stopped, minus what is already covered. The number that comes out is the gap. Nothing gets recommended above the gap.

  4. 04

    Two or three real options

    From different insurers, with real premiums and the actual policy wording for exclusions and guarantees. Including the option of doing nothing, priced honestly.

  5. 05

    The application, done properly

    You complete the tedious part at home using the guided intake on this site. At the meeting I open the insurer's own e-application and we finish it together. You sign your own portion, in the insurer's system.

  6. 06

    A review, on a date

    Coverage that fitted a $310,000 mortgage does not fit a paid-off house or a second child. We set a review date and I keep it.

How I am paid, in detail

I am an insurance intermediary. When an insurer issues a policy on an application I submitted, that insurer pays me a commission. It comes out of the premium structure the insurer set — you do not pay more because I was involved, and you would not pay less by going direct to the insurer, because most of them do not sell direct.

Two things follow from that, and both are worth saying out loud:

  • If no policy is issued, I earn nothing. The conversation, the needs analysis, the comparison and the review are all unpaid work on my side.
  • Commission is not uniform. Permanent life pays more than term. Larger face amounts pay more than smaller. Some insurers pay more than others for the same product. Every one of those is a pull in a direction that may not be yours.

The controls against that are structural, not sentimental: the written needs analysis comes first and sets a ceiling; you see options from more than one insurer; and the commission arrangement is disclosed to you in writing before you sign an application, as CISRO’s Principles of Conduct require.

What I can and cannot do

I canI cannot
Advise on and place life, critical illness, disability, visitor and travel insurance Sell securities, mutual funds, or manage an investment portfolio
Advise on segregated funds and annuities inside a TFSA, RRSP, FHSA or RESP Give tax, legal or accounting advice — that is your accountant and your lawyer
Explain how a registered account works and help you open an insurance-based one Use the titles “Financial Planner” or “Financial Advisor”, which are protected in Ontario
Place business with the nine insurers I represent Place business with any insurer outside that list
Serve clients in Alberta and Ontario Serve clients in provinces where I do not hold a licence

The agency relationship

I carry on business through World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada Inc. (WFGIA). The agency holds the contracts with the insurers, supervises the advice its agents give, and reviews needs analyses and “reasons why” documentation. You will see the agency named on your application paperwork. It is named here, in the footer of every page on this site, and on the disclosure page, because you should never have to go looking for it.

Questions people are too polite to ask

How are you paid?
By commission from the insurance company that issues your policy, paid out of the premium you would pay regardless of who sold it to you. Commission rates differ between insurers and between product types. You are told the arrangement in writing before you sign an application, and I will show you the commission comparison if you ask — most people never do, and I think they should.
Does that mean you have a conflict of interest?
Yes, structurally, and I would rather name it than pretend otherwise. A permanent policy pays me more than a term policy. A larger face amount pays more than a smaller one. That is why the needs analysis comes before the product, in writing, and why the recommendation is capped at the calculated gap. The full disclosure is on the Companies I represent page.
Are you independent?
No. I am contracted through World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada Inc. (WFGIA). I can place business with the nine insurers listed on the disclosure page, and I cannot place business with any insurer outside that list. If the right product for you sits with an insurer I do not represent, I will tell you that rather than sell you the nearest thing I can.
Do you charge a planning fee?
No. There is no fee for meeting me, for the needs analysis, or for the review. If a policy is never issued, I am never paid.
What happens to what I tell you?
Enquiry forms on this site send me your name, contact details and message by email. Nothing else on this site sends data anywhere — the guided intake runs entirely in your browser and builds a file you keep. See the privacy policy.
Can I bring someone with me?
Please do. A spouse, a parent, an adult child, a friend who is good with numbers. Decisions this long-lived should not be made alone in a room with a salesperson.

Ask the awkward question first.

How much do you make on this? Why this insurer? What happens if I stop paying? Those are the right questions, and they get straight answers.

Contact Ravi Call Ravi