This was a tough one to write, so bear with me.
Before NewGround even existed, when my wife and I sat down to dream about the good we wanted this company to do in the world, we wrote down huge goals and even bigger shifts we wanted to see in this industry.
One of these areas of focus has been more difficult to share and promote than we anticipated. So tough, in fact, that I’ve started, stopped and shelved this blog post numerous times over the past five years. But, it’s important, so here it is: Everyone—and I mean EVERYONE—needs to know about, understand, and ultimately own Critical Illness insurance.
There I said it.
I’ve struggled with how and when to present the information. It always comes flooding back to me when I read of a young family struggling to manage costs for travelling back and forth to the IWK with their child who has terminal cancer, or a Go Fund Me page shows up on social media for a similar reason. But I can’t share it then, because for some reason, that feels wrong.
But, the importance still remains.
Then there’s the issue of how? I’m a numbers guy, so I often lean on stats to paint a picture or tell a story… but who wants to be faced with a bunch of cold, hard facts and figures when they’re thinking about such an emotionally-charged topic? So, as difficult as it might be, I’ve decided to just get right down to it.
In our practice, we recommend our clients purchase Critical Illness coverage at a minimum of 1X their annual salary, for themselves, their spouse and each of their children.
Now here’s the centrepiece of it all: WHY?
As a parent, I know there’s nothing most people wouldn’t do for their kids. And no one ever wants to think about the possibility of them becoming terminally ill. But, imagine one day, one of your kids is not feeling well. You decide to take them to the doctor for a check-up, but the doctor can’t seem to find out what’s causing the trouble, so they send your child for more testing at the hospital. You take a few days off work for the back and forth to the hospital and then you hear the news: your child has cancer, and they need an emergency operation within the next week.
In an instant, your whole world is turned upside down. All of a sudden, you must juggle work, being a loving spouse, mother or father, and be there for you child at their appointments, operation, and post-ops. Again, you’d do anything for your child, take time off work, heck maybe even quit your job to be there for them, but who’s going to pay the bills if you aren’t working? How can you afford gas, groceries, hotel rooms, and other travel-related expenses? Let alone the regular day-to-day costs of living for the rest of the family.
We know these situations can put a lot of pressure on a marriage and many other relationships. You realize that something must give and usually it’s your relationship, your own health, or your personal finances, and forgoing any of those has the potential to put a strain on your family and friends as well.
Don’t have kids? What would you rather be doing and/or thinking about if you or your partner were faced with a critical illness? Would you rather be stressing about paying the bills or crossing a thing or two off the bucket list?
Critical illness insurance allows you to offset your income if you need to step away from work during your recovery, or that of a loved one. It could mean being able to fly friends and family in for support during treatments. It could pay for a hotel room beside the hospital to save travelling back and forth for treatments. It could help you retro fit your home to make it more comfortable during treatments and recovery. Or, it could allow you to take a well-deserved dream vacation to help you live life to the fullest after a full recovery.
If you don’t have unlimited financial resources, then you should consider purchasing Critical Illness insurance on yourself, your spouse and each of your children. That way, if any of you suffer from a heart attack, cancer or stroke, you can rest assured that you will receive a tax-free lump sum of money that you paid for with pennies on the dollar to support all that we mentioned above, and more. These products can be arranged in such a way that after you pay into them for several years, and if you don’t make a claim, the insurance company will refund some or all of your premiums. Therefore, you’ve protected yourself and your family for free.
One of the reasons I promised myself I’d tell everyone about critical illness insurance is that, in my line of work, there aren’t many opportunities for my clients to enjoy the benefits of their financial planning quite like this. Have life insurance? Your beneficiaries will thank you after you’re gone. Have critical illness insurance? Both you and your loved ones will be happy you did, in the event you’re diagnosed with cancer or have a heart attack or stroke.
This gives our clients and their loved ones piece of mind, knowing that if any of their family members suffer a critical illness, money will not be an added stressor. Instead, it has the potential to make a difficult situation a little more bearable, and help you and/or your loved ones be present for treatment, through to recovery.
If you’d like to find out more about critical illness insurance and how it can help you, please visit our website atwww.newgroundfinancial.com and click the “Book Now” tab to book a meeting with one of our highly qualified Insurance Advisors.
Thank you to my ever-supportive wife, for helping me fine-tune and soften this post.
- Nick Mombourquette