With the advancements in medical science, more and more people are surviving major life-threatening events. Some examples are Heart attack, cancer or stroke. They may survive for years or decades after the event and they may or may not be able to return to work full-time. During this time, the individual will almost certainly incur expenses or changes in their lifestyle. Critical Insurance provides the beneficiary with a tax-free lump sum amount. This money helps to ease the financial pressure created by this unfortunate event. This is a living benefit that basically pays out while you are alive, unlike life insurance that only pays after you die.
Some of the examples of the situations in which this money can be used are
- Paying off Debts, loans, credit card balances or mortgage
- Changes to the home required to accommodate changes in the individual’s physical capacity. Some examples may include ramps and widened doorways to accommodate a wheelchair.
- Other treatments that may not be covered by provincial medical plans.
- The choice to control your life during the time of recovery i.e. take time off, work part-time etc.
- Changing the job to something which has much lower physical requirements or much less stress. It would likely be at lower pay.
- Vacations to enjoy time with the family and reduce the stress level.
With CI policy you can choose the riders to have 100% of your money back after 15 years or at age 65. This requires that you do not have any claims on the policy. Think of it as a forced savings plan with no interest. In addition, you get the coverage for a lump sum payment in case you are faced with an unfortunate event of this kind. There is also a waiver of premium rider that you can add-on to the policy. This rider waives all premiums to this policy in the event of, and for the duration of, a period of total disability of the insured.