Choosing the right protection isn?t just smart...It?s critical

Tom and Natalie are both 37 years old and have two children. Claire is seven and Ethan just turned four. They feel they have a good insurance plan in place: life insurance on both of them and, since Natalie is a freelance writer, disability insurance for her. But a conversation in a supermarket checkout line prompted Natalie to rethink their strategy for the unexpected.

The customer behind her had a packed cart and her hands full trying to keep her kids away from the chocolate bars. Natalie offered to help put her groceries on the belt. The frazzled mother was very grateful and told Natalie she's really busy these days now that she's at home full time looking after her husband. She explained that he was recovering from a heart attack. He was going to be fine, but...well, you know, it was hard. Natalie, sensing a story, asked her new acquaintance if it was tough on them financially. Yes, the woman offered, but since they had critical illness insurance it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Natalie went home with her head full of questions. Critical illness insurance? Sure, she'd heard of it. But just how important was it? What were the chances of one of them getting sick? She called up her financial advisor, Jason, and while she was waiting for him to return her call she did a quick Internet search. It confirmed her suspicions. The chance of getting a critical illness? High. The impact on their family's finances if one of them got sick? Very high.

A few more clicks on the Internet and Natalie quickly realized that, while critical illness insurance is a relatively new product, there are a lot of options to choose from. Just then the phone rang. It was Jason. He promised to e-mail her a checklist that would help her zero in on the features to look for when buying critical illness insurance. He also set up an appointment with Natalie and Tom the next week so they could discuss their family's specific requirements.

Critical illness insurance:

What to look for
General A broad selection of coverage options (e.g., renewable in 10 or 20 years or payable to age 100). A broad selection of coverage options ensures that you can choose the coverage that meets your specific needs. For example, if you need protection during your mortgage years, a product with a 20-year term is a great solution. Coverage that focuses on conditions people are most likely to suffer, such as cancer, heart attack and stroke. Make sure you're protected by a product that provides strong coverage definitions for the conditions you are most at risk of developing. For example, some companies include conditions such as bacterial meningitis and aplastic anemia, but you are much more likely to be diagnosed with cancer, heart attack or stroke.
Heart Attack Coverage for treatments most commonly recommended and/or performed, such as coronary angioplasty. Statistics show that Canadian physicians perform coronary angioplasty more frequently than coronary bypass surgery.* Be sure you are covered for the most common medical procedures.*Source: The Growing Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke in Canada 2003, Statistics Canada A contract definition for heart attack that allows diagnostic testing for elevated biochemical markers versus elevated cardiac enzymes. Testing for elevated levels of troponin (biochemical marker) is a successful method used to diagnose heart attacks. And in the future, medical professionals may find other cardiac biochemical markers that could be used to help diagnose heart attacks. Make sure that the covered condition definitions under the policy include up-to-date diagnostic procedures and that they are broad enough to cover future medical advances.
Cancer Partial coverage for the early stages of breast and prostate cancer (ductal carcinoma in-situ of the breast and early [Stage T1a or T1b] prostate cancer) The early stages of breast and prostate cancer affect many Canadian men and women and should be included in any critical illness product you're considering. Some level of continuing critical illness coverage if you are diagnosed with cancer within the first 90 days of buying the policy. In many cases, some coverage is better than no coverage. Make sure the policy won't be cancelled because you're diagnosed with cancer within the 90-day cancer exclusion period. A 100% payout if cancer tumours are diagnosed in the presence of HIV. Ensure that the product does not limit your benefit. Many critical illness insurance products pay only a partial benefit for this condition.
Partial Benefits Strong partial benefits coverage for the early stages of breast and prostate cancer, and for coronary angioplasty. Many policies pay partial benefits. The partial benefit percentages and amounts payable for early breast cancer, early prostate cancer and coronary angioplasty vary from policy to policy. Ensure you choose the product with the best possible partial benefit coverage.
Advance Payment An advance payment that applies to all covered conditions and doesn't require you to satisfy the waiting period. It's important that you receive money quickly so that you can begin recovery as soon as possible. Some companies offer an advance payment as soon as you make the claim.

At their meeting, Jason explained that critical illness insurance would provide a cash benefit they could use to help minimize the financial impact on their lives if they were diagnosed with a covered condition and survived the waiting period. Natalie was definitely interested now. Critical illness insurance would complement her disability policy, which she had bought to protect a portion of her income if an illness or accident left her unable to work. Now, she and Tom would be protected if they received common medical diagnoses, including cancer, a heart attack or stroke.

And from what Jason had told them, the two of them were ideal candidates for critical illness insurance – they had a definite need, were in good health, and had no family history of serious illness. After talking it over, Natalie and Tom purchased the policy Jason recommended.

Not only could Natalie sleep at night knowing she and her family were well protected, but she got a job out of it, too! She called her local newspaper and is writing an article for them on the benefits of critical illness insurance.

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