How to Protect Your Income

One of my good friends had all is that is needed to berecommended to insure from 60% to 65% percent of
happy. A good paying job with a mid-size company, agross income as insurance benefits are tax free in
beautiful wife and two kids in private schools, aCanada.
cottage in the city, and new cars for him and his wife.The insured can choose a proposed amount or
One Saturday afternoon, a few weeks before thereduce it to his convenience and proceed to the next
Christmas holidays, while driving to the mall, he feltstep that is to choose the waiting period and the length
extreme pain in his chest. Realizing he must be havingof benefits period. The waiting period can vary from
a heart attack, his wife took over the wheel and drove14, 30, 60, and 120 days and is the period during which
him to the ER.no benefits are paid following a disability.
He had to undergo urgently an open heart surgery. HisThe benefits period can be selected from 2 or 5
operation was a success however he had to stopyears or to the age of 65 and can be extended in
working for 4 months and then he was only able tosome cases. Logically the longer the waiting period is,
get back to work a few days a week. His incomethe lower the cost of insurance premium and vice
plummeted and the family had to sell some of theirversa the longer the benefits period is the insurance
retirement savings in order to pay their mounting debts.cost is higher. There are many other options to choose
They also took of their kid out of private school. Thefrom depending on the product selected and the
psychological impact was tremendous.service provider. Such options are residual or partial
This type of situation can happen to anyone, illness ordisability (more on this in future articles), future
accident can have huge impact on one's life and love'sinsurability protection, cost of living adjustment, and
one life.more.
Can such a situation be prevented?Some insurance companies will offer to reimburse all
Disability insurance or as sometimes referred to salarypremiums at the end of the contract if no claims were
or supplementary insurance is a great solution tomade. This option is attractive for independent
protect one's income from unpredicted life changingworkers who have dividends to reinvest and wish to
events. However it is important to understand theminimise their company's tax contributions.
conditions and limitations in these types of contacts inDisability insurance is complex and requires a deep
order to validate protection is adequate.analysis for every client.
At first, the insured's profession will determine eligibilityPeople have to become suspicious of one price for all
and consequently cost of premiums. For example andisability insurance which can cover disability in case of
electrician because of intense physical work facesan accident only and has many limitations in both the
more risk of disability than an accountant. The insuredwaiting and benefits period.
person's gross income has to be calculated. It is