Do we really need a will right now? + MORE Oct 22nd

OTTAWA – The federal government formally launched consultations Friday to explore potential changes that would shift some of the financial risk tied to insured mortgages from the shoulders of taxpayers to lenders, such as the banks.
Under Canada’s current system, lenders are able to transfer virtually all of the risk from insured mortgages to insurers, which are indirectly backstopped by taxpayers, the government said.
The Finance Department has been examining the possibility of making such a change for a couple of years and it’s now seeking more input.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the consultations into so-called “lender risk sharing” earlier this month as part of a package of changes related to Canada’s housing market.
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The consultations are designed to help Ottawa determine whether having lenders absorb a modest chunk of loan losses on insured-mortgage defaults would help shore up stability in the system…

In 2013, the Liberal government of Ontario made a promise to bring down car insurance rates. The good news is that premiums in general have come down about 8.5% since then. Still, that doesn’t mean that average car insurance premiums are necessarily low. Earlier this month, Kanetix.ca released research showing that Brampton is the most expensive Ontario city in which to insure a car, with Vaughan coming in as a close second. In fact, 10 of the Top 11 areas where insurance premiums are highest were in the Greater Toronto Area. Brampton had an average insurance premium rate of $2,392 a year for a single, 35-year-old driver with a clean driving record while Vaughn came in at $2,018. (The average Ontario car insurance premium is $1,348). The lowest rates? Sudbury ($1,221), Barrie ($1,366) and Peterborough ($1,054).
But MoneySense wanted to know why certain areas charged more for auto insurance. So we talked to Kanetix.ca vice-president Janine White. White says that there are a lot of things that go into determining an area’s car insurance premium but it all comes down to the average claims costs of the area…

In our April 2016 issue of MoneySense, we introduced you to Shannon Jarrett, 37, and her partner Marcin Duran, 34. They’re trying to track their money, come up with shared goals and cash in bad habits. Throughout the year we’ll be giving them a financial challenge every month to help them get her finances in tip top shape. Make sure to follow along! Their last challenge had them reading Stop Over-Thinking Your Money!: The Five Simple Rules of Financial Success, by Preet Banerjee.
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What Shannon had to say 
After reading Stop Over-Thinking Your Money!, by Preet Banerjee, a couple of key things came to mind: First, that I really need to look into our life insurance coverage. How much life insurance do we have through work and what does that cover? Is that enough? My thinking is that if our house is paid off (which we aim to do as quickly as possible) then we’ll be okay…