LIVING BENEFITS – DISABILITY, CRITICAL ILLNESS & MORE

Disability Insurance

Disability Insurance provides you with financial security by replacing your personal income in the event of an accident or sickness. Benefits are paid out tax free at time of claim if premiums are paid with after tax dollars.

Insurance companies offer many choices in customizing your policy to suit your budget. The longer you wait to begin receiving benefits and the shorter the term that you collect payment, the less expensive the premiums. Differences in the definition of disability also exist. The difference is crucial to your ability to collect benefits at claim time. The three most common definitions are “the inability to perform the duties of your “own occupation,” “a job in your field,” or “any job at all”.

Whereas life insurance proceeds are usually payable in a lump-sum which terminates the contract; disability benefits are most often payable on a monthly basis for the duration of the disability (up to the benefit period in the contract). Upon recovery from a disability, the policy continues and will protect you should you suffer subsequent disabilities or in the event that a prior disability reoccurs.

Unlike car insurance where a claim will increase your premium, many disability contracts are completely guaranteed and the insurance company cannot alter the contract or your premiums based on your personal claims experience. Others may have a guaranteed contract but the insurance company reserves the right to increase premiums for an entire class of individuals. The company cannot centre out one person for claiming too much, but they can look at an entire class of policy holders (i.e. Hygienists). They have the right to increase all their premiums if the contract is not fully guaranteed.

Why Do I Need Disability Insurance?

Most people are unaware of the startling disability statistics. Often they have purchased life insurance to protect their families in the event of death.

In fact, the odds are far greater that a person will become disabled in a given year than will die. There is at least an eight times greater chance of suffering a disability for at least 90 days as compared to the chances of death (up to age 37). While death may be inevitable, disability is more probable at any given age.

Critical Illness Insurance

Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum benefit should you be diagnosed with one of the covered conditions and survive the waiting period. When a critical illness strikes you may be faced with financial difficulty. There are numerous extra expenses involved in an illness such as: supplementing your spouse’s income as they may require time off to care for you, increased medical expenses and child care costs, or travelling to another location for specialized care. The cash flow provided by critical illness insurance can be used at your own discretion. It provides great flexibility so you are able to focus on your health without having to be concerned about your finances.

Typical illness or conditions include:

Heart Attack, Stroke, Cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, Aortic Surgery, Aplastic Anemia, Bacterial Meningitis, Benign Brain Tumour, Blindness, Coma, Coronary Artery Bypass, Deafness, Heart Valve Replacement, Kidney Failure, Loss of Limbs, Loss of Speech, Major Organ Failure on Waiting List, Major Organ Transplant, Motor Neuron Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Occupational HIV Infection, Paralysis, Parkinson’s Disease, Severe Burns

Long term care

Long term care insurance pays a monthly benefit if you suffer a loss of independence and require care within your home or in a facility. The insurance company defines a loss of independence as:

1) The inability to perform 2 of the 6 activities of daily living without substantial assistance from another person. Activities include: eating, bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, and maintaining continence; or

2) A cognitive impairment where the insured requires supervision.

While a certain degree of public support is available, government programs are not comprehensive and long term care services can be costly. With the aging demographics we anticipate that the degree of public support will decrease in the future increasing the need to self insure.

Disability is meant to protect your income throughout your career, while long term care insurance is meant to protect your assets during retirement.

Travel Insurance

You've planned and saved for your vacation. But are you ready to pay for unexpected costs if something doesn't go according to plan? I have access to a wide range of comprehensive, flexible travel insurance solutions!

Health & Dental Insurance

Health insurance is important because it helps protect you and your family from health-related expenses NOT covered by your provincial health plan. It picks up where your provincial plan stops.
Health insurance can protect you and your family from regular health expenses such as prescription drugs, eyeglasses or visits to the dentist. And, it covers unexpected and expensive medical costs such as getting a private or semi-private hospital room, chiropractic care, physiotherapy and much, much more.
Medical expenses can add up quickly. But with health insurance, your savings can be protected if you or a family member gets sick or has an accident.

Business Overhead Insurance

When an accident or sickness occurs, as a business owner, you not only have to cover your own personal living expenses, but you will also be responsible for the continuing expenses of your business. Having to pay your business expenses from your personal disability benefit could potentially erode your standard of living. The solution is business overhead insurance.

Business overhead insurance will keep your business afloat while you recover from your disability. It works much like a personal disability policy except the insurance company pays the claim on a reimbursement basis. Upon disability, eligible monthly expenses are submitted to the insurance company and are reimbursed up to the monthly maximum amount of your policy. Your expenses can fluctuate from month to month; if your expenses are lower than your monthly benefit amount in one month, most insurance carriers will carry forward the difference to be applied to future months where your expenses may be higher. Business overhead insurance also has a maximum benefit period of 2 years. This cap is set on the policy with the assumption that you will sell or dissolve your business should you be unable to return to work after 2 years of disability.

The premiums for business overhead insurance are a tax deductible business expense. At the time of claim any benefits received are taxable; however, the expenses that the benefit will cover are deductible as a business expense, so the net result is no additional taxes at time of claim.

Buy/Sell Insurance

Many people put a buy/sell agreement in place if they have partners or active shareholders, in order to address the buyout of the company should the other party die or become disabled for the long term. However many people neglect to address the funding required to finance the buyout. Having the proper insurance in place will ensure your ability to buy out your partner/shareholder’s share of the business avoiding a heavy financial burden at a time it is needed least.

Depending on your circumstances, these policies can be personally or corporately owned. Each has its advantages and disadvantages that should be considered carefully. Consult your insurance advisor to determine whether or not this can be implemented into your business.