If you are from Ontario (as i’m licensed in Ontario only), i’m more then happy to review what you been quoted. Just let me know how I can get ahold of you via e-mail.

If not, no worries. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours in purchasing your disability coverage!

Thanks.

There are many variables in pricing. So simliar to what you said ‘it depends on what your house costs”. Everything from occupation, health/medical history, income, Province, job stability, prior claims history (if applicable etc).

Generally speaking in Canada, particularily Ontario, you can pay 2-4% of your income towards this coverage. Some could go higher, if you have a ‘fully loaded plan’.

Hope this helps.

Well written!! As an insurance agent I think everyone should read this article.. at times it can be challenging when I speak with clients (particularily younger ones under 30) and they say ‘it won’t happen to me’.

This article you wrote really hits the point home.. from a non-insurance company point of view.

My advice to people too is with disability insurance, READ your contract – if you do not understand, don’t buy. Ask the agent for clarification. Ask 1,000 times until you understand your contract.

Many types of contracts are out there – cancellable, guaranteed renewable and non-cancellable. The more ‘flexible’ to the insurance company (ie. cancellabe), the cheaper it is. With disability insurance, you get what you pay for.

Speak to an agent.. speak to two agents.. get well educated and do business with a reputable company, who has a reputable agent and don’t focus on the price alone – as, there may be a catch to the contract feature.

How, a disability could stop him contributioning to his RRSPs/TFSA/RESP even if this disability lasted two years, his group disability (which there is a major short fall in benefits) would cost him over $150,000 by the time he was 65. This is because RRSPs etc. would have to be withdrawn. His son’s education…student loans etc.

By adding to his coverage (disability) and looking at getting a Critical illness coverage this shortfall would be reduced or even gone!

http://gailvazoxlade.com/blog/archives/295

Here is some information from that blog.

Paying for the policy
Why should I pay for a policy when I can just contribute to my RRSPs or savings and hope that I will have enough money should I become disabled? Consider this: If you are forced to withdraw from your RRSPs you will have to pay taxes. A withdrawal of $5,000 could be as little as $2,600 in the end depending on your tax bracket. Additionally, if you are forced to withdraw during a bear market, such as we are currently experiencing, you will be forced to withdraw more units from your mutual funds and potentially at a loss.

If you own an individual disability insurance policy paid from your cash, any claims payment come to you tax free once you have satisfied the waiting period or other contract requirements. This will apply even if you are currently unemployed.

In summary, disability insurance is only one element in the “Risk Management Strategy”. Is it worth spending less than 3% of your gross income to protect your greatest asset, the ability to earn a steady income? Other coverage’s to consider include Life insurance, Critical Illness insurance and Long Term Care insurance.

New!… You can also, get up to 50% of all premiums refunded back to you every eight years!

The hard part is, there’s a 6 month wait period for each claim. EI will cover 15 weeks for sick leave…at a low rate. So it’s 3 months with absolutely no money each LTD claim…and 3 months with a fraction of the money. Plus, the farther into the work year I am when I go off on LTD, the less money I qualify for on it.

These are all things I didn’t have any clue about, and I can’t qualify for short term disability insurance now. I definitely recommend both Short and Long Term Disability insurance to anyone that can qualify. We had 90 acres of mature timber on our property that we had to log to cover expenses during our LTD wait period. Not everyone is so lucky.

It’s wise to get it when one is young and in good health. If you wait too long and have some medical issues develop you may never qualify for it later. My premiums went up as I aged. I believe they used to be around $25 a month, now they are $85. I have no regrets getting it.

Everyone in Ontario should check their car insurance now, because to get that pathetic coverage it is actually a premium you have to pay…the basic is a lower amount of coverage for the same rate you were paying.

I was 22 when I found out I had thyroid cancer with a 4 month old baby and 1 course left to graduate. No one would give me insurance, not even when we bought our first home at 23. The earlier the better! If you haven’t got sick, a disease or been in a terrible accident- plan for the worst so if something bad were to happen you are prepared financially.