Protect yourself, your loved ones and your assets by getting the right coverage.
The unexpected can often happen and it’s not always good. That’s why insurance exists: to protect you financially against the many things that can go awry. While you may not need as much insurance when you’re young, as the years pass and you end up with a growing family, insurance becomes a key strategy for making sure you, your loved ones and the assets you’ve built up are protected, no matter what.
There are several different types of insurance you might need throughout your life; let’s take a look at what’s available and when you might need it.
Consider life insurance
If you have anyone in your life who relies on you for support, such as a spouse, kids or even an aging parent, you need life insurance. Even if you have significant assets, you don’t want to leave your loved ones relying on them to get by. As you grow older, and your personal and financial lives become more complex, you’ll discover that your life insurance needs (and those of your spouse) will also change.
As a general rule, you should increase your life insurance protection so that it keeps pace with your income and lifestyle. Term insurance (which protects you for a predetermined length of time and pays a specified amount to chosen beneficiaries) is great to cover temporary needs, such as a mortgage.
Permanent life insurance is meant to stay in place for your lifetime to cover permanent needs, such as providing liquidity on death for your loved ones or paying your estate’s taxes. This policy has an investment component that grows over time and can be accessed in a variety of ways.
There are many options, so it’s critical to work with an advisor who can explain the difference between universal life and whole life and recommend a plan design with riders that delivers the best coverage for your situation.
Take disability payments
While you might feel fine today, illness and accidents happen. A recent survey found a large drop in the number of Canadians whose workplace benefits include disability coverage, and fewer companies are providing support for their employees’ financial health. And if you’re self-employed, you may not have a sufficient safety net if you were to become injured or ill.
And yet the chances of becoming temporarily disabled are surprisingly high: up to 40% of Canadians, on average, will be disabled for 90 days or more at least once before they reach the age of 65.
Disability insurance provides a high percentage of income replacement while you’re unable to work, making sure you and your family don’t fall behind on your expenses or are not forced to draw on your savings.
Even if you already have some disability insurance as part of your employee benefits package, it pays to consider backing it up with your own personal plan. Your employer-sponsored plan ends with your employment, but your personal plan stays in place regardless of your work situation.
Protect yourself with critical illness insurance
Like disability insurance, critical illness insurance provides coverage if you’re diagnosed with a specified medical condition, such as heart attack, stroke or cancer. It pays a lump sum, which you can spend any way you like. This could include helping cover expenses or paying for medical care that’s not covered by provincial or private medical plans.
Find out more about the benefits of and differences between disability insurance and critical illness insurance.
Consider long-term care
As you age, you may worry that your income won’t cover your needs if your health were to decline. Long-term care insurance provides funds when you can no longer carry on some of the normal activities of daily living.
Some plans pay a lump sum, while others provide an income stream over the balance of your lifetime to use for home care services or to help pay for nursing home care.
Get help in deciding which insurance is right for you
There are many insurance options that you can tap into today, with many choices to fit unique needs. Your IG Advisor can make insurance recommendations, based on your overall financial picture and your IG Living Plan. They’ll help to develop an insurance strategy designed just for you, to ensure you, your loved ones and your investments are fully protected.
Ask your IG Advisor about developing an insurance strategy today. If you don’t have an IG Advisor, you can find one here.
Written and published by IG Wealth Management as a general source of information only. Not intended as a solicitation to buy or sell specific investments, or to provide tax, legal or investment advice. Seek advice on your specific circumstances from an IG Wealth Management Advisor.
