According to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) , individual life insurance now equals 63% of total policies vs. 55% in 2009. This is not a surprising statistic considering that the shift towards contract work and self-employment means that many people no longer have group insurance through work.
When group coverage terminates, most individuals think about health and dental coverage, but they often overlook life, disability, and critical illness insurance. As well, even if you do have a robust group plan, you may want to top-up coverage to make sure that you are covered based on your own situation.
Moreover, changes in your health or lifestyle can make it more difficult to obtain affordable coverage when you need it most.
But How Much Insurance is Enough?
As an example, a common rule of thumb is for your life insurance benefit to be between 5 and 7 times your current net income, but each individual is unique and it is important to conduct a financial needs analysis based on the specifics of your situation.
For disability and critical illness, it's important to consider what would happen if you could no longer work due to an accident or illness and plan accordingly.
We would be happy to complete a needs analysis with you anytime to calculate the coverage that you might need. This is an important step in choosing the amount and type of coverage required.
The CLHIA has produced an excellent Guide To Life Insurance and a Guide to Disability Insurance that help consumers with the basics of coverage.
Please contact us for a no-commitment review of your current policies.