News

What to Expect When You’re Applying for Life Insurance

Getting insured can be quite a process, but we’re with you every step! Here’s a quick overview of what you can expect.

Holly Talks Financial Planning for Bowen Islanders

Everybody’s gotta start somewhere!

Happy Holidays from the AF Family!

Wishing you and yours a warm and happy holidays!

Talking About Money Doesn’t Have to be Daunting!

Talking about money can be daunting, but we’ve got your back!

What do you think of when you hear the words “financial planning?”

We asked our community: What comes to mind when you think of financial planning?

What would you do if you were given $1M today?

We asked our community: If you were given $1,000,000 today, what would you do with it?

Growing up, what were you taught about money?

We asked our community: Growing up, what were you taught about money?

What do you wish your parents’ generation understood about you & your money?

We asked our community: What do you wish your parent’s generation understood about you and your money?

What do you know about life insurance?

We asked our community: What do you know about life insurance?

Meet Ross

New beginnings, same great team

Meet Hardeep

We’re in your corner and on your team

Meet Rachel

With you every step of the way

Meet Katie

Big picture perspective, detailed support.

Meet Jill

Feel confident with your insurance

Meet Kal

Experience you can trust, coverage you can rely on

Meet Holly

Translating strategy into action

Cleaning & Greening

This is where we look at döstädning (Swedish death cleaning) along with all of your green end-of-life options.

Meet Chriselle

Peace of mind, designed specifically for you

Legacy

Legacy is so often associated with putting our names on a building or leaving lots of money behind, but everyone leaves a legacy.

Meet Danielle

Marrying tradition with innovation

Disposition & Memorial

All the little details when a death occurs – hint, it’s more than just deciding “cremation or burial.”

The Beginning of a New Era!

We’ve got a new President . . .

Advance Care Planning

How to ensure your wishes and values are known in case you are ever unable to speak for yourself.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!

I’m Dead Now What – 101

Our first event covered the basics — wills, powers of attorney, and representation agreements — what they are and how they can help.

Something to Celebrate

Thanks to our community, more than 3,000 women in over 35 countries have been empowered to grow their businesses, care for their families and invest in their communities.

Our Difference Makes a Difference

Meet Casey and Rich, a couple who have created a plan for retirement and are building an investment inside their life insurance policy.

15 Years of Kiva

Kiva just turned 15 and featured the AF Kiva Project as one of their stories of impact from around the world!

AF Family, Meet Jessie!

If you haven’t met her yet, Jessie is the first friendly face you’ll see when you walk in to AF. We can’t wait for you to meet!

Continuity of Operations during COVID-19

A number of our core values are being put to good use at this time – leading with heart, being thoughtfully driven to do more, and stretching to change.

The biggest challenge

Making room at the table for women in this industry.

Giving Globally and Locally: Introducing Kiva 250

It’ll be a close call, but with your help, we can celebrate loaning one million dollars through Kiva in 2020.

Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!

Adulting IX: Financial Goals & Cashflow Planning

We were excited to finish off our series with financial planner Julia Chung, who workshopped how to set financial goals based on our own unique values and priorities.

Kiva is Celebrating the Big Billion!

This month, Kiva celebrated hitting 1 billion dollars in micro-loans to women across the Global South. And we at AF are celebrating that over $800,000 of that billion was lent by our community!

Adulting VIII: Investing & Financial Planning

One of our favourite experts, Dave Sweeney, came back to help us understand how we should approach investing.

Our Favourite Day of the Year!

What do you get when you combine a parade, with a field of free range kids and dogs, live music and a beer garden? Bowfest!

Like Family

What’s changed around here in 25 years?

Next Steps

We are thrilled to announce that Rachel Rogers is a Licensed Life Insurance broker at Allan Financial.

Words on Words

We are always growing and stretching into change.

Adulting VII: Debt & Budgeting

No one wants to be in debt. We brought Liz Schieck back to discuss how to take control of your finances and pay down your debt in a realistic way.

AF Gets Sporty

This month the AF team has been gearing up to participate in the annual Motionball of Sport tournament on June 1st, which raises funds and awareness for Special Olympics Canada.

We have lots of exciting news at Allan Financial to share with you!

We continue to grow and change here.

Adulting VI: Buying Real Estate

Marty Staniforth shared with us all the steps to take (and the ones to avoid!) when starting on the real estate journey.

More Than Life Insurance

You’d never guess what one of our clients is now able to buy because of the investment aspect of her policy..

Let’s Make International Women’s Day Count

International Women’s Day feels different this year to me than it has before…

Adulting V: Wills & Taxes

Elizabeth Mah took some of the frustration and confusion out of doing your taxes and planning your will.

Who Knew?

When we partnered with Kiva 3 years ago, our initial goal was to create $250,000 in small loans to women around the world. We never imagined what was possible …

Happy Holidays from our Family to Yours!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Wait, charitable giving can be “smart finance”?

It may seem counterintuitive to say that giving away money can make smart financial sense, but we’ve found that to be exactly the case…

Adulting IV: Enjoy Your Life

We talked about some of those alternative investment assets you told us you were interested in learning more about. Ross Allan even made an appearance!

Adulting III: Managing Your Money

Life is expensive! Whether you make $30,000 or $130,000 a year, it can feel like you’re constantly broke. Liz Schieck helped us reframe how we think about budgeting.

Nothing can dampen community spirit!

We have roots on Bowen Island, and every year participate in the annual end of summer festival “Bowfest”…

Adulting II: Investing & Budgeting

Dave Sweeney shared some wisdom with us from his career as an independent financial advisor.

Kiva Loans Are More Than Just Money

Together we’ve raised $612,245 in small business loans! Hear the story of how 23-year-old Rwandan, Jean Bosco, used a Kiva loan to start his own biofuel business…

Adulting I: How Do I Adult?

We kicked off our series by looking at the different ways to access financial advice.

Building for the Future

It’s hard starting out today, especially in the Lower Mainland, but having good people in your corner is key…

A Family Business – Featured in the Globe & Mail

The Future of Allan Financial is Bright. An interview with Ross & Danielle in the Globe & Mail…

Danielle Allan featured in Business in Vancouver

“The numbers don’t lie. Want a change agent? You’ll do well by hiring a woman.”…

Feeling Safe

Ensuring our clients feel comfortable and safe in every growth phase of their life is what it’s all about for us…

We Answer Some Common Questions About Life Insurance

There are certain questions we hear a lot when folks are interested in life insurance…

Making Dreams Come True

We love hearing about the dreams and goals that we’ve enabled our clients to reach…

A Throwback to Last Year and Forum Magazine

It’s a throwback to last year when Ross, Danielle, and Chriselle were on the cover of our industry publication!

More Than Life Insurance

You’d never guess what one of our clients is now able to buy because of the investment aspect of her policy..

Happy Holidays From Our Family

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!

Major Milestone on the Kiva Project

Together we’ve raised $567,621! Thanks so much to all of our generous lenders…

Concrete Caring

For any team, giving should be a shared value. One that shakes things up, injects passion and purpose into our workplace and transforms our understanding…

Life Insurance is no laughing matter

Life Insurance can feel scary so the last thing you might expect to see are our clients having a blast.

Ross is Sleeping on the Street on November 16!

On November 16th Ross will be sleeping outside on the cold Vancouver pavement…

Happy Friday with Paperclip Law

Many thanks to Elizabeth Mah of Paperclip Law who presented at our Happy Friday event about upcoming changes in the law and how that may affect small businesses.

Hold My Avocado: Life Lessons from a Millennial

Recently, I was recognized by my alma mater, Island Pacific School, for my work on the Allan Financial Kiva Project…

The Madness of the Real-Estate Market

The real estate surge in Vancouver continues to push families to purchase their homes, condos and even live/work spaces in surrounding communities in Squamish, Bowen Island, and the Sunshine Coast…

We Got This – You Can Too

While Allan Financial has been in business since 1984, we owe much of our longevity to not only all of our amazing clients who have stayed with us since the very beginning but equally to our responsiveness to change.

Bowen in the News!

We’re pretty pleased, and honestly, a bit amazed, to have such a high profile feature. We hope you enjoy seeing a bit of a behind-the-scenes view of Allan Financial…

Team Building with a Mission

While we knew that raising funds for services for homeless youth would have an impact on them, we never imagined how this experience would be felt by our team…

Revive Your Firm

Most of us have had to go through reinvention at some point in our lives, and while it is never an easy path, we always knew it was crucial for us to remaining relevant…

The Faces of Our Future

Why would some of our millennial staff sleep out on the streets of Vancouver with just a sleeping bag and piece of cardboard?

Change

At the end of last year, we made a strategic decision to become a more independent life insurance advisory firm. Hear what this means for you as our client.

Season’s Greetings!

An Update on the Kiva Project

Check out the latest update on our Kiva project…

A Small Part of Something So Big and Meaningful

The 2010 Haiti earthquake destroyed Sandra’s shop, but thanks to a $8,000 loan…

Holly’s a true enigma

Let’s face it. When she leaves a room the question lingering is …who is that woman? What’s her deal?

Longevity and Relationships

“You are known by the company you keep.”

Tax Changes in 2017 – Do They Impact You?

As the end of the year approaches, some of you have been asking us about the new tax laws coming into effect in 2017 and what the implications could be for your current life insurance policies.

We Give and We Receive

We were thrilled when last week in Toronto at the 2016 Wealth Professional Awards we received the Best Practice Individual Office award. It was great – a big fancy award show and ceremony with all the attendant bells and whistles. And we won!

The Project That Changed Us

A couple of years ago, when we first announced that we were partnering with Kiva, we never could have imagined the outcome…

A Canada Life Profile of Allan Financial

We were fortunate to have one of our long term relationships – 25 years with Canada Life Insurance – highlight us in this video for their network.

From Spiders to Spreadsheets: Meet Megan!

A familiar face for you Bowen Islanders, Megan joins our team after earning her Masters degree in behavioural neuroscience and ecology…

Indifference

Buying life insurance is often the last thing on everyone’s to do list…

An Update on the Kiva Project

Check out the latest update on our Kiva project…

A Transparency Trend

Social Media, returning texts for appointments, a paperless office, Salesforce on mobile devices…we’ve made bold changes at Allan Financial…

Holiday Cheers to our Newest Team Members: Dania and Holly!

We raise a glass to two new team members that have arrived to champion analysis and client care…

An Update on the Kiva Project

Check out the latest update on our Kiva project…

It’s About Trust

With life insurance, business is personal. The disclosure process shines light into all corners of our lives…

An Update on the Kiva Project

Check out the latest update on our Kiva project…

The Debt Worth Client

Sometimes Canadians in other parts of the country don’t get Vancouverites…

An Update on the Kiva Project

Check out the latest update on our Kiva project…

Skepticism

Buying life insurance brings out the skeptic in most of us…

Insurance Community?

We’ve been lucky to serve many families for, believe it or not, decades…

Kiva Vignettes: Meet Gulnora

We decided to share some stories from entrepreneurs requesting and receiving Kiva loans. This is where your loans go! Meet Gulnora…

Katie’s Taking Over for Maria: Welcome our New Office Manager!

The winds of change are blowing as we head into summer at Allan Financial! We’re thrilled to welcome to the team Katie Ezerins as our new Office Manager…

Women in Wealth

Several women at Allan Financial had the honour of participating in the Scotiabank/HollisWealth “Women in Wealth” conference in Toronto this month…

An Interview with Patti-Jo Wiese

Rob Bancroft interviews PJ Wiese about marketing and building a community…

Old School Insurance Ain’t Gonna Wash

Out with the old and in with the new ways of work…

An Update on the Kiva Project

Check out the latest update on our Kiva Project…

It’s Rewarding When…

The very personal side of life insurance for Ross Allan…

An Interview with Danielle Allan

Rob Bancroft interviews Danielle Allan… about “old boys”, backing winners and business not as usual.

An Interview with Chriselle Kalaw

Rob Bancroft talks to Chriselle Kalaw… about fun with numbers, political family life and the logic of life…

Modern Life – Millennial Myths

Anyone who hasn’t yet hired a Millennial… is missing out!

Kiva Vignettes: Meet Agnes

We decided to start sharing some stories from entrepreneurs requesting and receiving Kiva loans. This is where your loans go! Meet Agnes…

Playoff Hockey

In his Scottish best, Ross Allan gives some colour-commentary on the state of the insurance game today…

The Allan Financial Kiva Project

Why Kiva? Good question…

Business on Bowen Island

Ross Allan impersonates his friends, neighbours and clients… can you spot yourself?

An Interview with Ross Allan

Rob Bancroft interviews Ross Allan about being disruptive, working with women and social responsibility…

Inside Joke

In this wee clip, Mr. Allan pays a bonny tribute to a few leaders in our HollisWealth community…

Ross’ Rant

This is a shout-out to our favourite Canadian satirist, Rick Mercer…

Allan Financial Kiva Project – Team Latina

This is a silly reveal of “Team Latina,” one of four staff teams competing to enlist clients to make micro-loans as a part of the Allan Financial Kiva Project…

Allan Financial Kiva Project – Team Asian Sensation

Rachel Denroche and Chriselle Kalaw are “Team Asian Sensation,” one of four staff teams competing to enlist clients to make micro-loans as a part of the Allan Financial Kiva Project…

Allan Financial Kiva Project – Team Dynamic Duo

Hardeep Arreaga and Kal Sangha champion “Team Dynamic Duo” (now technically a trio with the addition of Don Anderson!), one of four staff teams competing to enlist clients to make micro-loans as a part of the Allan Financial Kiva Project…

Allan Financial Kiva Project – Team Jambo Squad

“Team Jambo Squad” is a father/daughter full court press, one of four staff teams competing to engage clients to make micro-loans as a part of the Allan Financial Kiva Project…

Apprehension

Confusion, misconceptions, and fear are strong barriers keeping consumers from learning more about the benefits of life insurance…

Joe Who?

Ross Allan looks at two versions of “Joe Canadian:” Joe Senior and Joe Junior…

House Affordability in Vancouver

Even our videos have been affected by the real estate boom in Vancouver…

BUSY

Modern times make for manic measures!…

Spenders vs. Savers

Different generations have vastly different spending habits…

Allan Financial’s “Why”

Ross Allan speaks gently about his life’s work and passion to support others with heart and expertise…

Wild Child Party is Back!

It’s back – another wild and crazy parent party to benefit the Bowen Island Children’s Centre…