• making sure their business survives; • reducing workload while in recovery; • retrofitting a home or vehicle with assistive equipment; • taking a family vacation; • lessening emotional and financial impacts on the family. keep in mind, cancer and serious illnesses do not just im-pact the person who receives the diagnosis. The reality is the whole family suffers from the illness. If you recall a major health issue that you or someone close to you went through, you would likely agree that the spouse, children, even parents and siblings, are also impacted tremendously. RECOVERY WILL BE YOUR FIRST pRIORITY Having the funds to deal with a serious illness is important. However, money is only part of the solution. When a person finds out that they have been diagnosed with a serious illness, immediate access to the very best medical advice and treat-ment is crucial. Most insurers include, in their plans, access to a service that can help you find the best medical advice, services and facilities available for your condition. This service often includes: • World-class medical second opinion service – co-ordi-nates working with your physician to obtain the medical information needed for top medical specialists to evalu-ate and communicate their findings. This helps both you and your doctor to access the very latest in medical advances from leading medical institutions in Canada and the U.S., including Duke University Health System, Mayo Clinic and UCLA Healthcare; • Medical co-ordination service – help identify and se-lect the best hospital or specialist, and arrange appoint-ments, transportation and accommodation. Think for a moment about the peace of mind that comes from knowing you are doing everything possible to recover and have the very best minds working on your behalf. Some insur-ers include access to this service not only to you but to your spouse and children and it’s not dependent on making a critical illness claim. STRATEGY: GET YOUR MONEY BACK, NO MATTER WHAT Most people see the value and the real benefits critical illness protection can provide at a time when they need it most. What they don’t like is paying insurance premiums. A strategy to consider is to include on your plan a 100 per cent return of pre-mium feature. Set up this way, if you stay in great health and do not use the insurance you will receive 100 per cent of your deposits back at the specified age, for example 65 or 75 years of age dependent on the plan setup. CASE STUDY Consider the following example for a 40 year old non-smoker: • Tax-free cash benefit if diagnosed with a critical illness: $100,000 • Annual premium: $1,500 • Tax-free deposits returned at age 75 if no claims: $52,420 Most people have some emergency funds sitting in a sav-ings or chequing account earning little to no rate of return. In the example above, think of it as “parking” $1,500 a year with the insurance company. In return, you have a fully funded catastrophic health spending account with $100,000 in it. If a serious illness happens, you have access to $100,000 tax-free to use as you see fit. If you are fortunate, remain in good health and do not need to use the account you get 100 per cent of your money back to use for your retirement. In this example, there would be no actual out-of-pocket cost as the $1,500 came from an account that was not earning any interest. You either get the $100,000 at claim time or 100 per cent of your deposits back at age 75. In addition, if you die before becoming eligible for a claim or your return of deposits, 100 per cent of the pre-miums paid are returned to your estate. Some plans even have a long-term-care plan built into them. IN SUMMARY Almost everyone knows someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, heart attack or stroke. What is unfortunate and unpredictable is that it is sometimes the healthiest person they know. There is often no rhyme nor reason to it. If you are diagnosed with a critical illness, recovery will be your first priority. Having a critical illness plan in place when you need it most lets you focus on what really matters – getting better. Critical illness plans can be set up in a variety of ways and cus-tomized to suit your individual needs. Speak with a financial ad-visor today about this valuable addition to your financial plan. • New Expanded Showroom Your one stop shop for all clinic supplies and equipment Better Price, Better Choice ! Hot & Cold Therapy Acupuncture Supplies Laser Therapy Anatomical Charts Massage Tables & Supplies Chiropractic Tables Anatomical Models Clinic Supplies Orthopedics Support Cushions Physiotherapy Traction Diagnostic Equipment Pillows & Back Support Electrotherapy X-Ray Supplies Exercises Equipment CALL US NOW AT 416-502-3700 135 Sparks Ave.,Toronto, Ontario. M2H 2S5 (Victoria Park / Steeles Ave E) Tel: 416-502-3700, Fax: 416-502-2808 or [email protected] Call us now or visit our website at www.kosim.ca for special and promotion Canadian ChiropraCtor | OCTOBER 2011 • 39 www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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