Risk Management

Life doesn’t always go the way we want it to. Sometimes, the best way to mitigate these unwanted hiccups is to plan ahead.

Life insurance protects those you love in the unfavourable event that something goes drastically wrong.

It’s easy to get turned off by the anticipated costs and hassles, but when it comes to your loved ones, their protection is priceless. And here is the silver lining — it can be simpler and cheaper than you think.

There are viable options to choose from for both temporary and long-term applications:

1. Term (lowest short-term premium for a certain length of time).
2. Level Cost (lowest short-term premium for a permanent policy).
3. Paid Up Permanent (lowest cost in the long-term — larger premiums in the early years no premiums in the later years).

Which option fits you will depend on many factors and the needs you have. I help you assess those needs and make sure that you have the right coverage at the right price by providing you with a comparison of the different policies available.

That way, you can review the benefits of each to make an informed decision.

No one wants to receive the news that they have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. But the sad reality is, it happens. To us, or loved ones, or people we know. How would your life change if you were diagnosed with cancer? How much time would you need to recover from a stroke or heart attack?

Without a plan, many of us would be financially exposed. Fortunately, we have a greater chance of surviving health-related issues now than any other time in history. The downside of this is that medical hardships are also now more common as well as the need to take time off work during recovery.

Critical Illness protection provides a lump sum payment upon the diagnosis of specific critical illnesses, which prevents the loss of funds that might have otherwise come from your RRSP or other parts of your nest-egg. If you happen to require the use of this policy, you are at liberty to obtain whatever treatments you deem necessary, modify your home and vehicle to compensate any changes you may require, or even take a recovery vacation. If you are fortunate and never have to make a claim and keep your premiums paid up, you can receive all of your money back in your retirement years.

There are many different illnesses and many different aspects of health-related concerns. As such, the policies available vary substantially. It is important that you receive proper advice to ensure that your specific needs and desires are met. Basic plans cover the most common critical illnesses affecting Canadians today such as:

• Heart Attack
• Life-Threatening Cancer
• Stroke (or CVA)

More detailed plans cover further illnesses and life-altering conditions such as:

• Alzheimer Disease
• Aorta Surgery
• Benign Brain Tumour
• Blindness
• Coma
• Coronary Artery Disease Surgery
• Deafness
• Heart Attack
• Heart Valve Replacement
• Life-Threatening Cancer
• Loss of Independence
• Loss of Limbs
• Loss of Speech
• Motor Neuron Disease (including ALS)
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Occupational HIV Infection
• Paralysis
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Renal (kidney) Failure
• Severe Burns
• Stroke (or CVA)
• Vital Organ Failure
• Vital Organ Transplant

Critical Illness Insurance protects your quality of life if you survive an illness — getting the right policy is equally important.

Many people may need to adapt their lives to care for ageing parents. With the Baby-Boomers closing in on retirement, many of their children are wondering if they will be required to care for them in their old age.

Long-Term Care protection can give you the peace of mind that you will not be a financial burden to your friends and family as you age. This type of protection provides a monthly income to allow for daily care either in an established care facility or while remaining at home with your family.

The benefit would be received when a person needs assistance completing 2 or more of the following Activities of Daily Living:

• Eating
• Dressing
• Bathing
• Transferring
• Attending to Personal Hygiene
• Continence

Health and Dental protection can help offset the constantly increasing cost of prescriptions, dental work, and other general health care costs that are not covered by the provincial health care system. A good health and dental plan can cover the majority of costs such as:

• Acupuncture
• Physiotherapy
• Eye Exams and Glasses
• Dental Work
• Emergency Transportation (Ambulance)
• Prescriptions
• And more

Personal Health Spending Plans (PHSP) are also available for those who are looking to supplement their current Health and Benefits plans. A PHSP allows a corporation to pay and write off medical expenses for a person while eliminating the excessive tax that you pay on your income.

Planning to travel outside of Canada? Various levels of travel insurance can protect you from unexpected emergency medical costs. Sometimes we take the coverage benefits we have for granted, but when we travel we need to keep in mind that those benefits all come out of our pocket the moment we cross the border. Coverage can vary significantly between carriers and come with a variety of covered risks, including:

• Emergency Medical Insurance
• Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption
• Trip Interruption Insurance
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment
• Non-Medical Package
• All Inclusive Holiday Package
• Sports
• Baggage Insurance
• Rental Car Protection

Travel insurance can also cover medical evacuation, which means that travelers do not have to pay medical emergency transportation expenses with their own money.

Unexpected illness or injury can happen to anyone at any time. The current Canadian health care system provides excellent care in conditions that are considered urgent: accident and emergency, childbirth, and cancer treatment. However, if your condition is classed as “non-urgent,” you could face countless months waiting for a diagnosis or treatment. Those months could considerably affect your quality of life and ability to recover from an ailment.

Medical Access Insurance does not replace your provincial medical plan — it provides you rapid access when the system cannot.

Did you know?

• A common wait time for a heart bypass can be over a year.
• The average wait time for a CT or MRI Scan is 3 to 6 months.
• You could wait up to 2 years or more for a hip or knee replacement.
• These estimated wait times are only after you have seen a specialist (which can take 6 to 12 months prior to being placed on the wait list).
• If tests and investigations are required, you may have to wait even longer to be diagnosed.

Access to a waiting list is not access to health care. All of that waiting can lead to a loss of income, time, health, a decent quality of living, and perhaps even your life.

Some of the advantages of Medical Access Insurance include:

• No medical underwriting.
• No deductibles or co-payments.
• Coverage of pre-existing conditions.
• Access to specialists, state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, and surgery within a matter of days.
• Treatment in world-class facilities by nationally and internationally recognized specialists and surgeons.
• Techniques and minimally invasive procedures.
• Comprehensive case management, assured discretion, and privacy.
• A free second opinion for a covered condition.
• Available added coverage to give you access to a specialist in 21 days or less.*

*Recent studies show that seeing a specialist within 21 days of referral by your GP may result in a reduction of the intensity of treatment and recovery time by as much as 75%.

Medical Access Insurance is Available:

• To anyone up to the age of 74 with coverage of lifetime maximums of $1, 2 or 3,000,000 per individual to age 75. It is also available as a group benefit for businesses with 2 or more employees. This includes sole proprietors, partnerships, unions, corporations or professional corporations. Additionally, groups with 20 or more participants may apply to cover retired employees.

• With no medical exam. Simply complete the application form.

• Without co-payments or deductibles. Payment of your monthly premium is all that is required. The policy settles all claims on your behalf directly with the service provider.

• With pre-existing conditions covered. Pre-existing conditions that you have suffered within the 2-year period prior to taking out the policy will automatically be waived after your policy has been in effect for 24 consecutive months.

Disability protection is a Living Benefit that can provide a monthly replacement income if you are disabled for a period of time. Most disability plans can provide income to age 65 or 70. The cost of disability protection varies depending on the risks involved with your line of work.

Statistics show that if a disability lasts more than 90 days, the average time away from work is 33.6 months for a 30-year-old and 37.2 months for a 50-Year-old. Coverage can include many types of injuries such as workplace injuries, motor vehicle injuries, and sports injuries (eg. ski/snowboarding, mountain biking, basketball, etc.). Many illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, stroke etc. can also be covered.

Why disability protection?

1. Someone who is 35 years old has a 50% chance of disability for 90 days or more before they turn 65.
2. Most people are better financially prepared for their death (usually with life insurance) than for a disability, even though the chances are at least three to five times greater (depending on age) that a disability will occur.
3. Approximately one out of seven people who are between the ages 35–65 can expect to become disabled for five years or longer.
4. Almost 30% of the people who are between the ages 35 and 65 will experience a disability that lasts at least 90 days during their working careers.
5. Disability causes 46% of all foreclosures on conventional mortgages. Approximately 2% are caused by the death of the homeowner.
6. Benefits from a plan paid by the employer are taxable, whereas benefits from policies purchased individually are received tax-free.
7. Most people, no matter their income, spend 65% to 75% of their cash flow. With respect to protecting yourself from disability, a person should aim at securing as much disability income insurance as they can with the goal of replacing such income.
8. If you put away 10% of your income each year, then simple math says that 1 year of being totally disabled could wipe out the 10 years of principal that you put into your savings.

Source: MDRT