The LifeGuide® Professional Financial software sets the highest standards for independently produced multiple-carrier life insurance and related financial products' research, evaluation, information and quotation software.

LifeGuide® is produced for installation under Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT/2000 series and Windows XP.
LifeGuide® is fully Network Compatible for installation under various network configurations (Network installation licensing is required for network installations.).

The LifeGuide® Professional software is produced independently of all insurance sales and marketing organizations, without any direct or indirect affiliations with any insurance marketing organization.   The primary focus is to benefit the insurance buying consumer in the most objective, complete and professional manner.  As a consequence, LifeGuide® subscribers enjoy the widest and continuously increasing service and competitive edge and advantage.



Picture of the opening screen of the LifeGuide Professional Software


Scope and Range of Products Researched and Compared in LifeGuide®
The LifeGuide® Professional Software covers the entire range of life insurance products. No other independently produced life insurance research, comparison and information software in Canada provides the number of products, the number of companies and the level of comprehensive research and comparison facilities, features and tools that are provided to professionals on the LifeGuide software. The range of products on LifeGuide includes:



The "Products' Selection" pop-up window of the LifeGuide Professional Software. This pop up window provides the user with the product options from among the largest number and widest scope of Term, T100, Whole Life, Universal Life, Critical Illness, Guaranteed Issue and Special Issue products. It is as easy and point and click.


-Term Life Insurance: All available forms of "term" life insurance, including YRT, T5, T10, T15, T20, T25, T30, T65 and T75, etc. Term insurance is researched, compared and quoted for single lives, on a joint (first and last to die basis) as well as for multiple persons using LifeGuide's unique Multi-Life® cost optimization functions. Additional functions for research and comparison of term insurance include fine tuning and filtering of term products with respect to renewability and convertibility, fine tuning of research to account for the various category-classes, including consideration of the various forms of past or present tobacco use (and time since last use), detailed qualification requirements, detailed underwriting evidence requirements, detailed plan descriptions, insurance company profiles, marketing information resources listings and instant access to sample policy wordings, etc. LifeGuide provides subscribers with the most comprehensive and most advanced term research and comparison tools.



The "fine tuning" 'filtering' pop-up window of the LifeGuide Professional Software for Term products' research and comparisons. Since renewability and convertibility may be important qualitative aspects of Term products, LifeGuide provides the user with the facility to filter the compared products on the basis of renewability and convertibility. LifeGuide is the only independent multiple company life insurance software with this important feature.


-T100: All available forms of "T100" including Guaranteed T100, Adjustable T100 and Unique T100. T100 is researched, compared and quoted for single lives, on a joint (first and last to die basis) as well as for multiple persons using LifeGuide's unique Multi-Life® cost optimization functions. Additional functions for research and comparison of T100 insurance include fine tuning and filtering of T100 products to account for the various category-classes, including consideration of the various forms of past or present tobacco use (and time since last use), detailed qualification requirements, detailed underwriting evidence requirements, detailed plan descriptions, insurance company profiles, marketing information resources listings and instant access to sample policy wordings, etc. LifeGuide provides subscribers with the most comprehensive and most advanced T100 research and comparison tools.


-Whole Life: All available forms of Whole Life, including Guaranteed Whole Life, Adjustable Whole Life, Unique Whole Life and "limited premium payment period" Whole Life. Whole Life is researched, compared and quoted for single lives, on a joint (first and last to die basis) as well as for multiple persons using LifeGuide's unique Multi-Life® cost optimization functions. Additional functions for research and comparison of Whole Life insurance include fine tuning and filtering of Whole Life products to account for the various category-classes, including consideration of the various forms of past or present tobacco use (and time since last use), detailed qualification requirements, detailed underwriting evidence requirements, detailed plan descriptions, insurance company profiles, marketing information resources listings and instant access to sample policy wordings, etc. LifeGuide also shows Cash Surrender Values and Paid Up Values for Whole Life on a year by year basis. This provides for enhanced accuracy and credibility of of comparisons for any given points in time. LifeGuide provides subscribers with the most comprehensive and most advanced Whole Life research and comparison tools.



LifeGuide provides the user with detailed, attractive and easy to use 'ledger style' displays and print outs of values for any product being compared. The above picture is a shows the CCVA functions 'ledger style' display of values for a 20-pay Whole Life policy.



"A picture speaks a thousand words" (or a thousand entries on a spread-sheet). The dynamic graphics illustrations functions of the LifeGuide Professional Software provide the user with the easy to use facilities to display and investigate any product in the comparison in a pictorial and dynamic graphic format. By clicking at any point on the LifeGuide dynamic graphic display, the values for that point are instantly displayed in the 'read out' lines below, accurately for any given year and for each aspect. LifeGuide is the only independent multiple company life insurance software with these advanced, valuable and easy to use facilities. Of course, you may print out the graph with a single mouse click.


-Universal Life: All available forms of Universal Life, including Level Death Benefit and Increasing Death Benefit products and including all forms of COI. LifeGuide provides detailed research comparisons for Universal Life solving for various scenarios, including level payments for life, user-chosen "limited premium payment period", for "target" premiums for user-stipulated values and/or coverage at any given point in time, etc. Using LifeGuide to research the Universal Life market easily saves countless hours (and perhaps even days) of work and allows the subscriber to "zero in" on the best product(s) for the client's needs. The user can then proceed to produce the illustration for the consumer with the identified insurer's marketing materials. This is one of the many aspects that provide LifeGuide subscribers with a very wide and substantial advantage over their competitors. LifeGuide is the ONLY independently produced multiple company life insurance software with the power and sophistication needed for comprehensive instant research of Universal Life products. Universal Life Life is researched, compared and quoted for single lives, on a joint (first and last to die basis) as well as for multiple persons using LifeGuide's unique Multi-Life® cost optimization functions. Additional functions for research and comparison of Universal Life insurance include fine tuning and filtering of Universal Life products to account for the various category-classes, including consideration of the various forms of past or present tobacco use (and time since last use), detailed qualification requirements, detailed underwriting evidence requirements, detailed plan descriptions, insurance company profiles, marketing information resources listings and instant access to sample policy wordings, etc. LifeGuide also shows Fund Values and Cash Surrender Values for Universal Life on a year by year basis. This provides for enhanced accuracy and credibility of of comparisons for any given points in time. As noted, LifeGuide is the only independent multiple company life insurance software with the capability to comprehensively research and compare Universal Life products.



Picture of one of the pop-up 'options windows' in LifeGuide. This 'options window' appears when Universal Life products are to be researched and compared and is designed for the user to indicate the basis and parameters on which the UL research and comparison is to be made. The user may set the assumed projected annual UL fund growth, the planned premium payment period, the goals parameters to be solved for, etc. Comprehensive comparisons and evaluations of UL - including accounting for "fund" and "cash" values - requires complex computations and programming logic. LifeGuide is the only independently produced multiple company life insurance research software with the power and sophistication that is required for such the research and comparison of Universal Life products.


-Critical Illness: Needless to say, Critical Illness (CI) coverage is of fundamental importance and bridges the gap between life insurance and DI. Naturally, therefore, LifeGuide provides subscribers with advanced and comprehensive facilities to research and compare the large and growing number of CI products on the Canadian market. LifeGuide covers the entire range of CI products, including the "renewable term" and "level duration premium" products, including products that offer ROP ("Return of Premium"). Since CI products vary with respect to the covered CI events and since premium cost is closely related to the extent of coverage provided, LifeGuide provides the needed facilities to zero in on the products that provide coverage for the CI events that the client would like to have covered. Additional functions for research and comparison of CI products include the fine tuning of the research for the various underwriting category-classes, including consideration of the various forms of past or present tobacco use (and time since last use), detailed qualification requirements, detailed underwriting evidence requirements, detailed plan descriptions, insurance company profiles, marketing information resources listings and instant access to sample policy wordings, etc. LifeGuide is the only independent multiple company life insurance software with all these facilities for professional comparison and research of CI products.



The Critical Illness Coverage comparison and research "Sufficiency Filter" pop-up menu window of the LifeGuide Professional Software. This menu window provides the user with the facility to indicate the critical illness events that would need to be covered by each of the products included in the comparison. The user selects the critical events that need to be covered by clicking on the listing to place a check mark next to the name of the critical events.

-Long Term Care insurance (LTCi):  LifeGuide is the first - and only - independently produced multiple company professional software in Canada to include research and comparison of LTCi products.  LTCi coverage is becoming increasingly important as the leading edge of the "baby boom" generation is approaching the senior stage of life, a stage of life where the potential for the need to fund long term care is a reality.  Independent multiple-carrier, multiple-plan LTCi coverage research and comparison in LifeGuide is provided the leading edge LTCiScout(tm) software module that is included with LifeGuide.  The software examines various aspects of LTCi offerings, including "Elimination Period", "Maximum Benefit Period", "Maximum Benefit Payout", Coverage environment(s), including "Home Care", "Facility Care", etc., "ROP", "Inflation Protection", "Premium" amounts, mode and duration, "Paid up" options, etc.  LifeGuide's MontAge(tm) functions are utilized for effective and easy to use 'side by side' comparative examinations.  Of course, LifeGuide's LTCiScout module also includes detailed narrative plan descriptions, qualification guidelines, issue evidence requirements and sample policy contracts for the various products being compared.  Hundreds of LTCi offerings' permutations are included on LifeGuide's LTCiScout(tm) module, making this the most comprehensive independent resource for research and comparison of LTCi products available in Canada.

-Special and "Niche" products: LifeGuide includes a growing number of special and "Niche" products. This includes "Guaranteed" and "Simplified" issue life insurance and CI products. For these products, as for the others noted earlier, LifeGuide provides detailed plan descriptions, insurance company profiles, marketing information resources listings and instant access to sample policy wordings, etc.


Comparison Options
LifeGuide provides the user with the most advanced facilities to compare the entire range of life insurance, CI and LTCi products, including:

a. Initial and renewal premiums for term insurance, as well as detailed year by year death benefit and values detail for "permanent" products, including CSV and RPU for Whole Life products and Fund Values and Cash Values for Universal Life products.

b. All four premium payment modes, including "Annual", "Semi-Annual", "Quarterly" and "Monthly"

c. "Opportunity Saver": Where otherwise the "face amount" and/or the calculated premium would fall below insurance company stipulated minimums, the Opportunity Saver functions automatically compute the increased the face amount that would be required to meet insurance company stipulated "minimum premium" and/or "minimum face amount" requirements. Particularly for younger and healthy persons, the Opportunity Saver functions reveal substantial potential cost savings that can be achieved. "More for less" is sometimes possible, especially with term insurance. Instead of taking the old short cut and branding products "below minimum premium" or "below minimum face amount", the Opportunity Saver functions are designed to identify and take advantage of cost savings opportunities that can be achieved by increasing the face amount.

d. Multi-Select®: These functions provide the user with the ability to compare, survey and quote products from multiple categories in a single run. When combined with the unique Across the Board® functions of LifeGuide, these functions are very useful and powerful for producing time value comparisons and evaluations among products from various product groupings.

e. Across the Board®: Taking advantage of the year by year premiums and values information that is available on LifeGuide, these functions provide the user with the ability to compare all products in a survey against each other for the best cost and value at any given point in time. To minimize the hazards of "Vanishing Coverage", these functions also identify the final expiry years of term products as well as potential premature expiries of Universal Life products. (Note: Across-the-Board® is a Registered Trademark of CompuOffice Software Inc. The Across-the-Board® modules are available only on LifeGuide® and on our US life insurance comparison software, CompeteUS(tm). No other use of our Registered Trademark, Across-the-Board®, is authorized by us on any other life insurance comparison program)

g. Provincial Coding: Since not all companies are licensed in all provinces and since not all products are necessarily offered in every province, LifeGuide provides the user with the important facility to identify the province in which the prospective insurance transaction is to be commenced. This avoids accidental quoting of products that may simply not be available in the respective province. Furthermore, the provincial coding functions also automatically take into account the differing Provincial Premium Tax rates and apply these to the premium computations where applicable to produce, compare and display accurate premium figures.

h. Comparisons for single lives and for groups of lives: In addition to comparisons, surveys and quotations for individual lives, LifeGuide also provides the user with the most advanced functions, including all the above, for groups of lives. For two or more lives, LifeGuide is the first independent multiple-company comparison software to innovate quotations and comparisons for multiple persons on a Joint-Life basis (for joint, first-to-die as well as joint last-to-die with premiums payable to the first death and joint last-to-die with premiums payable to the last death). LifeGuide, of course, continues to provide the most powerful and most comprehensive surveys, comparisons and quotations for Joint-Life and for all products that offer this option, including term, T100, Whole Life and Universal Life. LifeGuide is also the first independent multiple company software to correctly and accurately implement the facilities to survey, compare and quote products that are offered with combined billing discounts. LifeGuide accurately computes and attributes the combined billing discounts. Furthermore, LifeGuide is the only independent multiple company software with the facilities to automatically differentiate between the "individual policies combined billing discounts" and the combined billing discounts that are offered in single contract "base:rider" arrangements. This differentiation is very important due to the potential contractual flexibility limitations that may be present in "base:rider" combined billing discount arrangements.

LifeGuide® is the ONLY independent multiple company software with the very powerful Multi-Life® functions. While the combined billing discounts are based on the pre-brokerage "single company representation" model and usually involve the policy factor, the significance of the discount in combined billing discounts arrangements diminishes with older individuals, higher face amounts and underwriting qualification differences between the individuals. Furthermore, combined billing discounts are not necessarily offered on all products and product combinations, even within the same company. The LifeGuide Multi-Life® functions take into account both the combined billing discount opportunities and the cross-company / cross-product opportunities. The powerful and effective Multi-Life® functions frequently reveal significant cost savings and value enhancing opportunities that would otherwise be missed.



Picture of the Multi-Life® functions display window of the LifeGuide Professional Software. In this example, insurance is researched for a husband and wife taking advantage of the Multi-Life® functions' power to compare on the basis of placing both with the "same" company or placing each with a different company. Placing both insureds with the same company could have the advantage of any offered combined billing discounts while placing each with a different company may produce even greater total cost savings. Both options need to be examined to investigate and identify the optimum opportunities for cost savings. The LifeGuide Multi-Life® functions perform this research and investigation instantly. In the pictured example, over $1,000 of annual cost savings - achieved by insuring each of the spouses with a different company - are identified. Without the LifeGuide Multi-Life® functions, these substantial savings could easily be missed.

LifeGuide is the ONLY independent multiple company software with the powerful Multi-Scope(tm) functions. These functions provide the user with the ability to survey, quote and compare insurance costs, INCLUDING AVAILABLE DISCOUNTS for groups of lives numbering up to 12 lives in a single pass.


Financial Tools
The LifeGuide Professional Software provides a suite of easy to use financial tools. These include:
-PV of a series of future payments
-PV of a single future payment
-FV accumulation of a series of periodic deposits at a given ROI
-FV of a single deposit at a given ROI
-Commuted Value
-Commuted Period
-Commuted Rate
-Cash flow and ROI analysis (involving both periodic deposits and withdrawals at different or the same frequencies)
-Mortgage and/or loan analysis, including effective and powerful studies of custom (user stipulated) static and/or variable payments and/or mixture thereof (and with user-stipulated compounding and payment frequencies, terms and amortization periods). Detailed displays and print outs of schedules, etc. This software alone is valued at $250 and is included free of charge for the benefit of LifeGuide subscribers and their clients



Screen view of one of the tabs "Return on Investment" of the LifeGuide Multi-Calc(tm) financial tool functions. Different tools are invoked by a single mouse click on any of the tabs.


Analysis Tools
-Detailed and comprehensive step-by-step "wizard" guided Life Insurance Needs Analysis (a very effective and beneficial planning and service tool)



Picture of step 8 of 23 of LifeGuide's "wizard" guided Life Insurance Needs Analysis. This step, to take inventory of existing individually owned life insurance, provides an explanation in plain language as do the other steps of LifeGuide's professional needs analysis modules.

-"Ledger Style" Life Insurance Needs Analysis with the same detail and accuracy as the "wizard" guided format but on a "ledger" format (under both the step-by-step "wizard" guided format or the "ledger" style format, income streams are analyzed for increasing ("indexed") income (eg to account for anticipated inflation), fixed income, fixed period of income, indefinite period of income (capital preserved to provide for indefinite income period). The capital at commencement of can be set to deplete over a given period of time or to be preserved or to actually increase with or without increased income cash flow.

-Detailed and comprehensive retirement income needs analysis and analysis of investment(s) required to achieve the retirement income goals. The Retirement Income Needs Analysis is provided in both the "wizard" guided step by step format as well as in the "ledger" format. Income streams are analyzed for increasing ("indexed") income (eg to account for anticipated inflation), fixed income, fixed period of income, indefinite period of income (capital preserved to provide for indefinite income period). The capital at commencement of retirement can be set to deplete over a given period of time or to be preserved or to actually increase with or without increased income cash flow.



Picture of the "ledger style" format, this one for the Retirement Income Needs Analysis. This scrollable window is neatly organized to detailed and comprehensive needs analysis and provides access to various detailed cash-flow ledgers for optional scenarios.

-Detailed and comprehensive disability income needs analysis in choice of formats similar to those for life insurance and retirement needs.


Additional Resource Tools:
-The Insurers Roster: The most comprehensive and detailed roster of nearly 400 insurers that are operating or have operated in the past in Canada. The Roster includes a host of valuable information to trace the insurer who may be handling a product of a "retired" insurer, including contact information. The Roster also includes contact information, financials and brief details with respect to currently operating insurers. LifeGuide is the only independently produced multiple company software in Canada that provides this important resource tool.



Picture of the "Insurers' Roster" functions window of the LifeGuide Professional software. Companies are listed in alphabetic order, with detailed information on each easily accessible with a single mouse click or through the keyboard. Nearly 400 companies that are operating or have operated in Canada in the past are listed and detailed to provide added benefit to LifeGuide subscribers and their clients.

-Click and view instant retrieval of information over the internet, including links to insurer web sites, to insurer information circulars, to LifeGuide Lines, etc.

-Financial Library, including resource data on various aspects of life insurance and financial planning -EZ setup and use links to individual company and other third party software, directly from within LifeGuide ... and more


LifeGuide Screen and Print "Output"
LifeGuide screens are designed for ease of use and to minimize the number of screen flips/changes. Detailed information on any product in a LifeGuide comparison survey is instantly displayed within the survey screen on a single mouse click. The user can also continue on and zoom in on any aspect of the product, including quantitative and qualitative details, dynamic graphic illustrations, etc. - usually with only a single mouse click.

LifeGuide Print output is attractive and professional. The user is not limited to a narrow range of print output options but can custom produce the print output to provide extensive research and specific product(s) detail, including both quantitative and qualitative information and including graphic illustrations.

Print output can be instantly directed by the user to any physical or virtual printer (including "printing" to a file and saving of that file). LifeGuide also features its own specially custom written module to produce print output in PDF format with or without instant e-mailing of the output. Although Adobe's PDF writer is an excellent and strongly recommended product, production of professional output in PDF format with LifeGuide does not require the user to purchase a PDF writer separately.


Software Upgrades and Data Updates
While already providing subscribers with a wide and significant service and competitive advantage, the LifeGuide Professional Software is enhanced on an ongoing basis to continue to widen the service and competitive advantage of subscribers.

Software upgrades and data updates are released on a monthly basis, an on occasion on an interim (during the month) basis as well. Since we work independently but cooperatively with the various insurers, we normally receive insurance product change, introduction, underwriting requirements, qualification requirements and like information ahead of introduction to the field. This allows us to include such changes, introductions and the like simultaneously with the insurance companies themselves and enhances the accuracy and currency of the LifeGuide Professional Software. This cooperation by the insurance companies is very much appreciated and benefits the thousands of LifeGuide subscribers as well as the insurers and the general public.

Software upgrades and data updates are distributed by CD as well as by fully automated, secure and reliable downloads from the LifeGuide update servers. The upgrades and updates via the Internet are hassle-free and fully automated, utilizing special routines innovated for the LifeGuide Professional Software and built into the software itself.


Information Resources:
Product information, including rates, methods of computation, u/w requirements, descriptions, qualification criteria, etc. are sourced directly from the head offices of the insurance companies. This provides the highest possible degree of accuracy and reliability. Furthermore, since the information is received directly "from the source" and in a timely manner, the need for "mid-month" updates is limited. We thank all the insurance companies for their ongoing support and cooperation.


Important Note:
The above is only a very brief review of a small fraction of the benefits and advantages provided by the LifeGuide Professional Software. LifeGuide provides many features and benefits that are not mentioned here, each adding to and compounding the wide and notable service and competitive professional advantage enjoyed by LifeGuide subscribers.