Critical Illness
What if you could no longer work? What if your illness were so great it stopped all income coming into your household?
Critical illness can have a devastating impact on people and their families. Their financial situation is usually one of the biggest impacts they feel. Many people survive a critical illness, but are unable to continue working and have difficulty paying the bills. This could be a burden for them and for their families.
Critical Illness Insurance policies are a very good preventative measure against such burdens.
What medical conditions are covered?
Did you Know?
Critical Illness Statistics
- 1 out of 4 Canadians will develop heart disease during their lifetime.
- 1 out of 2 heart attack victims is under the age of 65 years and 95% of victims survive the first attack.
- 1 out of 20 people suffer a stroke prior to age 70, and 75% of victims survive a first stroke.
- 1 out of 3 people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime, and 65% will survive at least 5 years.
- 50,000 Canadians suffer from multiple sclerosis, one of the hightest incidence rates in the world.
- More than 750,000 people in Canada could sufer from Alzheimer's disease between now and the year 2031.
Thanks to medical advancements, most people have an excellent chance to survive a critical illness.
However, most people have not set money aside to cover unexpected expenses that are associated with critical illnesses.
A number of Canadians will be afflicted with a critical illness at an earlier age, only a portion of their total expenses will be covered by Provincial Health Insurance Plans. As a result, Critical Illness Insurance products have been introduced. This gives family members of those who are ill financial peace of mind.
What is Critical Illness Insurance?
CI insurance is a lump sum cash benefit that is paid directly to the insured once a diagnosis for a covered illness is made.
CI insurance is a supplement to any group disability and health insurance benefits. CI insurance is not dependent on the insured's ability or inability to work and a full recovery does not affect the payment. Critical illness insurance pays out a lump sum of cash even if you are able to go back to work. (Plans such as Government health plans and employee benefits are limited to basic medical and hospital coverage. Disability insurance pays a monthly benefit only when you are unable to work.)
What Critical Illnesses are covered?
The following are common medical conditions that are covered:
Click here to read the Description of Conditions Covered for each of the following conditions.
- Heart Attack
- Stroke
- Life Threatening Cancer
- Kidney Failure
- Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
Additional Conditions Covered:
- Paralysis
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Blindness
- Deafness
- Major Organ Transplant
- Coma
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Parkinson's Disease
- Motor Neuron Disease (including Lou Gehrig's Disease)
- Loss of Speech
- Benign Brain Tumour
- Occupational Injury HIV
To get Critical Illness Insurance, you are not required to provide an income statement, as you do with Disability Insurance, which makes it a viable option for those who do not have a steady income, such as homemakers and some self-employed people.
You must survive a critical illness for a certain amount of time in order to receive benefits (i.e. 30 days).