I’ve been a customer at BMO since my university days. There were no RESPs back then and my parents banked with BMO so they liked being able to transfer money from their account to mine for free from their home branch. No need to worry about lost cheques or late rent payments. (Thanks Mom and Dad!) Even so, I was suspicious when an envelope arrived telling me to open it because they had a free reward they wanted to offer me: When I opened it, the offer was $2000 of accidental death insurance for one year.
$2 000 In Accidental Death Insurance Is Insulting
Frankly, I found the offer more insulting than interesting. BMO requires me to keep half this amount in my bank account just to get free chequing. Even the CPP Death Benefit is $2500 (although that is taxable income to the person who receives it.) This is such an incredibly small amount of money I doubt it would even pay for the refreshments at a wake or funeral service.
Why Did They Offer “Accidental Death” Insurance Not Life Insurance?
It’s another insult: it’s because they know that “accidental” deaths are very uncommon in my age and gender bracket. Deaths from disease are Number One for my group. So they chance they might have to pay out is fairly high for a true life insurance policy and is very very low for an accidental death policy.
Why Is BMO Really Making This Offer?
- Well, firstly they want you to open the envelope so they can get their advertising in your line of sight.
- And secondly, they want to remind you that they sell insurance nowadays.
- Thirdly, they want you to consider buying more coverage from them, either for accidents or for other insurance risks.
I also have a bad feeling about the “for one year” part of their offer. I wonder if the policy will automatically renew with you having to pay for it after the end of the first year if you enroll. The offer already clearly states that if you request additional coverage, you will have the premiums deducted from your bank account, which is partially identified on the offer.
Unfortunately, I can’t find any details about whether there is an auto-renewal or not on the letters they mailed to me. I hope no one finds out the hard way that there is such a scheme in place!
Should I Accept the Offer of $2000 in Free Insurance?
Personally, I’m not interested. In particular, I’ve had trouble getting BMO to properly handle changes in GIC instructions at renewal so I’m not confident that they would cancel this policy at the end of the first year before any premiums became due.
If you really think $2000 is worth it, by all means accept. Be very sure to select the “I opt out of receiving information and offers on BMO Insurance products and services” box on the form, though. If you don’t, I’d be very surprised if you don’t get a phone call or email asking you to increase your coverage.
And make sure to contact BMO a month or so before your coverage is due to expire to ensure it does not get renewed into a contract that costs you an unexpected amount.
Related Reading
- Why I Won’t Buy a Market-Linked GIC
- Why I Hate Buying GICs Through a Bank Instead of a Brokerage Account
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Would you accept an offer like this from your bank? Please share your views with a comment.
Always interested in reading a BMO insurance product ad or brochure , the AD Free $2000 for one year has to be another lead in to more insurance but taken as it reads free for one year $2000 AD works for me ! Covers another small debt !
If you don’t mind getting them contacting you trying to sell you additional insurance, I guess it’s fine. I just feel a bit miffed they didn’t offer me $20 000 for free!
I just got folder offer with my bank statement but the web address does not seem to function bmoinsurance.com/free2000 . The accidental death insurance section has an age limitation so will not apply to me but BMO already know what my age is for other account related items. The free life insurance is common practice. I already have a 1000 offered by Canadian Tire years ago .
Interesting that they didn’t bother to check their links or check your age! If they really want your business they’ll have to make you a much better offer. Thanks for sharing your view!
thanks
$2000 is $2000! If this is an insult to you, send me $2000 and I will accept your insult.
I accept the offer of $2000.00 free Accidental Death coverage.
please give me a call at 604-591-8383
I also i not find the address to apply
I don’t work for BMO so I don’t know what address they are using for this offer. You could probably phone them to ask.
What a crazy web site; it only contains “comments”, and no address to apply for the insurance.
I’m not sure which website you’re referring to. If you mean mine, since I have no connection to BMO other than being a customer, I certainly can’t accept your application. If you mean BMO’s, when I got the targetted offer in the mail it had a paper form I had to fill out and mail in, not a link to a website.
We got this offer from them back in 1997. I tucked that policy away all these years in the file cabinet. Last August, my husband had a fatal bicycle accident. He had no other life insurance policy but I remembered we did have that old $2000 accidental death policy from BMO. Sure enough, after sending them more documentation than I could believe, I did receive payment on that policy.
I’m very sorry to hear about your husband. That must be horrible. I’m glad to hear that the insurance paid out properly, though. Take care and again, I’m sorry.
Excellent advice/critique. Thanks!
What is the age limitation?
This was a one-time offer I received in the mail over a year ago. It was for “accidental death” coverage only so age was not a factor: you’d have to get hit by a car etc for the policy to pay out. It also was only offering coverage for a one-year term, so you’d have to have that accident very quickly after accepting the policy. In other words, it was an advertisement not a worthwhile offer.