That’s quite a daunting title for a blog. I went back and forth on whether I should lighten it up a bit, but the subject itself isn’t light, so why should the title be? Some of us struggle to envision what our business would look like if we were to experience a critical illness. If you have not personally battled cancer, a heart attack, or a stroke, you may not fully understand the emotional toll it can take on you. The closest you can get to the experience is if you have had a loved one, family member, friend, or a co-worker endure these conditions. Their experience will offer you to varying degrees, a look into what life is like living with a critical illness.
In this hypothetical situation, Mr. or Mrs. Patient has survived their diagnosis and is working towards recovery. There are countless doctor appointments, difficult decisions, an emotional burden, unexpected costs, and financial juggling to be done. But wait, we are Canadian, Eh! The “unexpected costs” part I listed is covered by the government, right?
Well, that’s not exactly how it works. We are fortunate to have a robust health care system, yes, but it has limitations. It doesn’t cover hotel stays for your family as you go through treatment, or countless days of parking at the hospital. It does not cover the time off work your spouse must take to help with your recovery and manage the house. It does not cover the advanced care you can get if you fly down the US for a few months. For you business owners out there, it certainly doesn’t cover lost revenue that your business will incur as you take on this battle. Money can’t magically cure your diagnosis. However, imagine having a bag of money handed to you during your recovery, to be used for whatever you want.
That’s what critical illness insurance does for you.
Insurance to help with your recovery and give you access to a level of care that may have been previously unaffordable. Insurance companies have been in a decades long game of one-upping each other when it comes to improving the coverage offered. As the consumer, we have benefitted from this. There are now 26 illnesses and conditions covered under the top coverage plan offered to Canadians. They have built in “return of premium” riders, ensuring you get 100% of your money back if you do not end up claiming on the policy (which, knock on wood, you don’t).
So, business owner, are you open to the idea that you can suffer a critical illness? If so, this is a product you want to consider. If not, well sign me up for whatever super-smoothie you drink that wards off 26 illness and conditions. I want in.
Imagine your business right now, in all its glory. It might have employees; it might be a professional corporation. Would your business survive if you decided to take a 4-month vacation? What about for a year? Would you even consider doing that? For a lot of people, that answer is no. They can’t afford to take that much time away from their business. Shift the mindset and look at what would happen if you had to recover from a critical illness for that amount of time. The majority of people I talk to about his concept do not have a plan in place to mitigate that risk.
I promise to lighten up a bit on my next entry, but I wanted this to hit home.
If you have a story to share with me on this topic, I’ll be here. Thanks for listening.