Critical Illness Insurance

Who needs critical illness insurance?

• Professionals
• Business owners
• Employees
• Part-time or seasonal workers
• Homemakers
• University students
• Children

Make critical illness insurance part of your personal, family or business financial security plan.

Could you afford these expenses?

A critical illness or condition can stretch anyone's resources. Could you afford to:

• Modify your home
• Purchase a wheelchair or other specialized equipment
• Hire a nurse, housekeeper or child care provider
• Seek timely or non-insured treatment outside Canada
• Pay outstanding loans or mortgages
• Replace a key employee
• Hire additional staff

How will you cover these expenses?

Health insurance
Covers certain medical expenses; but may not cover additional expenses often associated with a critical illness or condition.

Disability insurance
Provides a regular income to help meet day-to-day living expenses; but may not provide enough to pay all the additional expenses associated with a critical illness or condition.

Savings & RRSPs
Provide additional financial resources; but if used will reduce retirement income.

Loan
Provides additional financial resources; but creates an additional financial burden for you, your family or business.

Critical Illness insurance
Provides additional financial resources to help pay for additional personal, family or business expenses which often accompany a critical illness or condition.

Wouldn't it be comforting to know you have the financial resources available to survive a critical illness or condition?

 Costs for Additional Treatment, Services and Equipment

Below are a few cost estimates for treatment, services and equipment which may be required for a critical illness or condition.

CDN Dollars Personal Transport   Wheelchair - manual 450 - 6,000 Wheelchair - motorized 3,500 - 12,000 Scooter 2,800 - 7,000 Home Care   Home care bed 700 - 2,600 Private nursing (per hour) 25 - 50 Housekeeper (per hour) 10 - 20 Treatment at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota)   Coronary artery bypass; 1-4 vessels, hospital stay 5-7 days 67,500 - 97,500 Modified radical mastectomy; one breast, hospital stay 2-3 days 19,500 - 24,375 Radical prostatectomy, hospital stay 2-3 days 30,000 - 36,750 Radiation therapy for cancer for 6 weeks 34,500 - 42,750 Kidney transplant (living donor) hospital stay 5-8 days 142,500 - 172,500 Heart transplant, hospital stay 2-4 weeks   Home Renovations   Ramp 300 - 1,000 Stair lift 3,200 - 15,000 Van Conversion   Ramp 300 - 1,000 Wheelchair access 13,000 - 20,000 Driver total independence 18,000 - 40,000

What are the chances you'll suffer a critical illness?

Suffering a critical illness or condition is more likely than you think.

• 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women are predicted to develop heart disease in their lifetime
• 40,000 to 50,000 Canadians suffer a stroke each year
• During their lifetime:
  - 1 in 2.5 men and 1 in 2.8 women living in Canada will develop cancer
  - 1 in 9.5 women will develop breast cancer
  - 1 in 11 men and 1 in 20 women will develop lung cancer
• 132,100 new cancer cases were estimated to occur in Canada in 2000
• An estimated 50,000 Canadians, twice as many women as men, have Multiple Sclerosis

Sources:
Statistics Canada
Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2001
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, 2001
National Cancer Institute of Canada: Canadian Cancer Statistics 2000, Toronto, Canada, 2000

Surviving a critical illness or condition is also more likely than you may think.

• 85% of hospitalized heart attack patients survive - the percentage is higher for those with their first heart attack, and lower for those with recurrent heart attacks
• 75% of stroke patients survive the initial event

Health Statistics pertaining to the frequency of serious illnesses among Canadians:

• 9 in 10 will develop Back Problems
• 2 in 5 will develop High Cholesterol
• 1 in 13 will develop Diabetes
• 1 in 20 will develop Bronchitis
• 1 in 30 will develop Osteoarthritis
• 1 in 50 will develop Epilepsy
• 1 in 100 will develop Alzheimer's
• 7 in 10,000 will develop AIDS
• 1 in 10,000 will develop Parkinson's
• 7 in 100,000 will develop ALS

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