The registered health underwriter designation is getting a makeover. As of Sept. 1, Toronto-based Advocis will launch a revamped version of the RHU known as the certified health insurance specialist (CHS) designation.

Over the course of two four-month terms, the RHU self-study program had covered the marketing, pricing and design elements behind health insurance products such as critical illness, disability products and group benefits, as well as long-term care insurance. The new CHS requires advisors to take one of three financial planning electives over a third semester: Contemporary Practices in Financial Planning; Comprehensive Practices in Risk and Retirement Planning; and Wealth Management and Estate Planning.

The number of older Canadians is growing sharply, creating a widening pool of clients who are interested in products that create living benefits. These products are becoming increasingly complex, says Greg Pollock, president and CEO of Advocis, so adding a financial planning component to the RHU is critical: “Clients are living longer and have greater needs for health insurance products. While the RHU did address the products, [the designation] needed to be updated.”

Waterloo, Ont.-based Sun Life Financial (Canada) Inc. cites global research by Germany-based reinsurance firm Munich Re that has found that after age 35, a person is five times more likely to suffer cancer, heart attack or stroke than they are to die before age 75. As for seniors, according to Lévis, Que.-based Desjardins Financial Security, about 25% will need long-term care.

To meet this growing need, living-benefits products have moved from being optional in a portfolio to essential, says Sam Albanese, industry director at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology’s Centre for Financial Services in Toronto and a consultant for the CHS program: “Living benefits are now part and parcel of all financial plans.”

LTC and CI policies have evolved since they were first introduced in Canada in 2000, and are available with an array of options and riders. The CHS reflects the changing marketplace, says George Hartman, CEO of Toronto-based Market Logics Inc. : “The cases can get very complex, and you need the extra training.”

The CHS will also help meet the needs of advisors looking to become recognized specialists. Over the past few years, says Pollock, there has been a “mini-trend” of advisors creating teams based on the specialized knowledge they already have.

For example, three insurance advisors could come together as a team, but one will specialize in living benefits, while the other team members focus on investment products, such as segregated funds.

Launching the CHS is also about making the program content more relevant to Canadian advisors, adds Albanese, as the RHU was adapted from the U.S. insurance industry. “We wanted advisors in Canada to have access to a program that was completely Canadian,” he says, “and that is what the CHS is.”

There are 1,500 advisors with RHUs operating in Canada. Pollock hopes that number will grow to 3,000 over the next five years. You can still enrol in the RHU program for this summer; however, as of Sept.1, only the CHS will be available.

The cost for the CHS will be the same as the RHU: $395 for Advocis members. Advisors can complete the CHS via a self-study program through Advocis, or attend a classroom-based version at Seneca College. IE