Critical Illness Insurance
Critical illness insurance is relatively new in Canada. It was founded by Dr. Marius Barnard, with the first critical illness product being launched on the 6th of October 1983 in South Africa, under the name dread disease insurance.
Dr. Barnard was a member of the team, headed by his brother Christiaan Barnard, that performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant. Dr. Barnard was motivated by the financial hardship he saw his patients suffer after he had treated their critical illnesses, so he convinced the South African insurance companies to introduce a new type of insurance to cover critical illnesses. Barnard argued that, as a medical doctor, he can repair a man physically, but only insurers can repair a patient's finances.
Critical illness insurance is similar to life insurance in the sense that it provides a tax free lump sum payment. However, it is different in the fact that life insurance pays when you pass away, but critical illness insurance pays when you contract an illness and live.
The most common illnesses covered by a critical illness policy are life threatening cancer, heart attack and stroke. Some of the other illnesses that may be covered include Alzheimer disease, aorta surgery, benign brain tumor, blindness, coma, coronary artery disease surgery, deafness, heart valve replacement, loss of independence, loss of limbs, loss of speech, motor neuron disease (ALS), multiple sclerosis, occupational HIV, paralysis, Parkinson’s disease, renal (kidney) failure, severe burns, vital organ failure, and vital organ transplant.
A unique feature to critical illness insurance in Canada is that it has a return of premium option. This means that if you keep your critical illness policy for a certain period of time, and have never had a claim, then you can receive all of your premiums back.
To find out if critical illness insurance might be right for you, contact us today.