As 2012 draws to a close we take time to look back on the year that was! Some of us will be pleased with the outcome and yet many of us will be questioning why we were not able to live up to our own expectations! For many of us this year has come and gone without much time to reflect on our goals and objectives, we're busy living our lives. Perhaps it's the demands on your time to play taxi to your children, the extra work you bring home to keep up with your employer demands or maybe taking time to enjoy the significant other in your life! There is very little time for you to work on you! As simple as this sounds, it's very important! To be the best you can be, the best dad, to give 110% at work and to be the best friend to your spouse you need to ensure your head is in the game!

Statistics show that 1 in 3 Canadians will be affected by a critical illness in their lifetime. That means there is a change coming to the old adage "the only sure things in life are death and taxes", Major financial institutions around the world have recognized this trend as well. Now lenders sell Critical Illness to protect mortgages at a higher rate than Disability insurance. They understand the risk, they know that an individual is more likely to suffer a CI than a disability, my concern is that they are no interchangeable, but merely complimentary.

Why than have so few employers taken the step to implement a Group Critical Illness program? If the data that presents itself tells us that more employees will suffer a CI, then will die or experience a disability why do employers continue to shoulder that burden?

 Here's a brief case study:

Matthew, age 42 suffers a debilitating stroke. He has lost a great deal of his mobility, and in now in a wheel chair. Because he is not able to perform most of his work related tasks he will qualify for disability as he has LTD through his employee sponsored plan, but there is a 4 month elimination period. To make matters worse, Matthew now has to make some modifications to his home. He needs a wheel chair ramp to get in and out of his house, all the doors need to be widened to accommodate his wheel chair, the kitchen needs to be modified to ensure things are within reach and to top it off, Matthew can no longer drive the family car, he'll need a handicap accessible vehicle.

He lies in bed wondering where will the money come from for his regular monthly bills plus all these extra costs. The next day he calls his advisor to cash out the $55,000 he has in his RSP and the 27,000 his wife has. They get an acceptable vehicle and manage to get most of the renovations complete but at what cost!

A critical illness plan would have ensured that Matthew had the financial stability he needed. It would have meant that he would not have had to sacrifice his ability to retire by cashing out his retirement funds to make the necessary modifications to his house and it would have ensured an acceptable standard of living for him and his family.

talk to your insurer today to find out if they offer group CI,  your employees financial independence may just be hanging in the balance.

Cheers;

RM