Long term care

Daily assistance in our living - something we are not imaginating during our retirement. Unfortunately, we ca never be sure - there is 50% chance of needing long term care after your 75 (according to theUnderwriters LTC council in). This is the price for prolonging human lives....

Long term care insurance Canada - what it is? - It is tool, which will pay the insured individual a tax-free benefit every week, if their medical condition requires to be given assistance with two out of the six activities of normal daily life. Bathing, eating, dressing, toileting,maintaining continence and transferring are all among (usually closer specified by each policy).

Our society is getting older and the expenses aimed on the senior citizens are growing. It creates pressure on public funds, which will be hardly sustainable in some years. Possible answer is the private long term care insurance. I have prepared short presentation in case you want to visit your broker prepared!

Temporary or Ongoing?
Temporary care occurs for weeks or months and is used to describe rehabilitation periods from a hospital stay, recovering from surgery, illnesses or injuries or terminal medicalconditions. Ongoing long term care means the need of assistance in caseof chronic medical conditions or chronic severe pain, permanent disabilities or dementia.

Skilled or Custodial care?
The first one refers to services which can be provided only by licenced medical personnel. On the other hand custodial care refers to services, which are not so complicated to be provided by licensed personnel only - it can be given by any individual. Some long term policies only cover skilled care.

Setting
Policies usually have specific limitations reffering to possible facilities - care can be provided at home, in the home of a family member or friend of the recipient, adult dayservices location, in an assisted living facility or board-and-carehome, hospice facilities or nursing home.

Elimination periods
The same as disability insurance in Canada - it refers to the amount of time which must pass before you begin to receive your weekly benefit. The benefitperiod determines how long you’ll receive the coverage for.

Premiums
Simply - how much are you going to pay for your policy. Elimination period, benefit period and the amount of daily benefits - these are the key factors to influence the premiums. Pay extra attention to premium caps, as most LTC policies inCanada offer guaranteed premiums only for the first 5 years after thepolicy takes effect.

Riders
The most important ones are the "cost ofliving adjustment" and "return a premium" riders. The former allows the benefit to be raised according inflation, whereas the return of premium benefit returns the premiums to your beneficiary in the event you passaway.

Disability insurance in Canada

Everyone can become disabled. Just one moment of inattention on the road (and it doesn't have to be you, who will make a mistake!) and your professional career is ruined. Of course, in modern world of insurance, there are ways how to be protected. Generally, there are 3 possible solutions (which may be combined).

1. Employer-paid disability insurance
Most of the emplyers have some group policy. Anyway, you should check it properly - it doesn't have to cover everything.

2. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefit
This is the basic protection, provided by the government. It can save you from the worst, however, don't expect you will be able to handle the same living standard, not to say about new needs, emerging from your disability!

3. Private disability insurance
Disability insurance Canada policies, provided by private insurance sector.  You can buy a policy, which will be paying you regular monthly payments for certain period. All conditions are negotiable - bonus period (for how long you will be getting the money), elimination period (when will you get your first payment), sum of the payment, type of the policy (cancelable/ non-cancelable). You can apply also for discounts, eligible to some occupations. 
So remember, disability insurance in Canada can do a lot for you!

What is not covered by life insurance policies?

Life insurance Canada is a contract. And just as the insured desires protection, so, too, does the issuing company.

How does the average life insurance company protect itself? By writing policies that protect them from the following five common dangers:

1.Suicide.
All life insurance policies have a suicide clause that protects the company from individuals intentionally seeking to commit suicide and pass on a death benefit. Two years from the date of issuance is the normal period for such clauses.

2.War.
Anyone who dies because of an act of war, be he a soldier or a non-combatant, will not be covered by most life insurance policies. It makes sense that an insurance company would seek to protect itself against war related deaths for which it simply could not afford to pay.

3.Hazardous behaviour.
So, too, those who engage in hazardous pastimes such as acrobatic flying or bungee jumping: proceeds of policies may be witheld should they lose life or limb while participating in such activities.

4.Restricted countries.
Any insured who travels regularly to regions where disease or strife regularly claim the lives of locals and/or tourists may also find himself excluded from benefits should he fall victim during his travels. (Many insurance companies simply raise premiums for frequent visits to such regions).

5.Faulty applications.
All insurance policies contain incontestability periods – usually two years – during which an insurance company may choose not to pay if it believes an application was submitted that withheld information or otherwise sought to fraudulently obtain a policy. Even though the insured obtained the requisite inspection report and underwent a medical, most companies lean heavily on the applicant’s input to determine the appropriate coverage and premium. If it’s determined that full disclosure would have denied the applicant a policy (or even lowered his rating), the company is not obliged to pay.