The Importance of Living Benefits, By Cindy ODonnell |
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Many of us have had a friend or relative suffer a critical illness such as heart attack, cancer, or stroke. After losing my Mother to cancer and having my Father in law diagnosed with Alzheimer’s I know all too well the emotional and financial burdens a critical illness can have on a family. Most Canadians think they are fully covered either through their work or their health plan. What is interesting is if you took a poll you would find that maybe half of all Canadians have a plan in place to cover the loss of income and the high costs associated with a serious health issue. When I sit down with families I am shocked at how many are not covered. When a serious injury or illness takes place, the last thing you want or need is to be burdened with the financial costs of getting better. You may have a plan in place that will cover part of your wage, and the government will help assist in some of your care, but where will the rest come from and will you survive financially? If you are like most you will use your personal savings, investments and retirement funds to cover these costs, and some of you may mortgage your home. Any of these options may take years to recoup the assets you have accumulated and could delay your retirement. There is another way to safeguard your assets. You could purchase living benefits insurance. Two that I am passionate about are Critical Illness Insurance and Long Term Care Insurance. They both may be able to help fund your financial challenges associated with a serious illness, injury or ageing. How do they work? Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum benefit following the diagnosis of a covered illness. The choice of how you spend the money is yours. You might use the money to access medical treatment not covered by provincial plans, pay down debt, take care of out-of-pocket expenses, or for personal use. Long term care insurance pays a tax-free monthly benefit payment in the event that you require substantial physical assistance from another person to perform two or more of the six activities of daily living, or if you require continual supervision because of cognitive impairment. You also have the choice on how you spend the money. You might use it for hiring a private nurse, compensating a family member who leaves a job to provide care, renovations, or paying for the cost of a long term care facility. These insurance’s give peace of mind, allow you to have freedom of choice, help you keep your dignity and safeguard your assets. For more information on Living Insurance call Cindy 705-795-6467 |
