Doug is a 44 year old professional and married father of two young girls. About 2 years ago, he was travelling by plane to Vancouver, when he experienced shortness of breath and a gripping tightness across his chest. Being a quiet, introverted guy, he didn’t want to make a scene, so tried to calm himself down by thinking that it may be anxiety that he was experiencing and that he could wait it out since he was almost at his destination.

Since it hadn’t gotten much better by the time he stepped into the taxi at the airport, he asked to be taken to the emergency department of the closest hospital. Doctors there quickly assessed him as having a heart attack and proceeded with an emergency double stent angioplasty in order to alleviate the symptoms. This quick medical intervention probably helped save his life, and after a 4 day recuperative period in Vancouver, Doug was able to return home to Toronto.

Due to the incredibly high level of stress associated with his work, his attending cardiologist suggested that he take 6-8 months away from his job to focus on rest, exercise, lifestyle modification and recovery. This, along with the heart attack, came as a complete shock to Doug and his wife Emily, especially since they had not anticipated that he would be away from work for such an extended period of time. The couple had limited savings accrued in their bank accounts and counted heavily on two consistent incomes to fund their cost of living.

Fortunately for them, Doug had purchased critical illness insurance coverage one year prior with a benefit of 200,000.00. This meant that Doug would receive a lump sum payment of 200,000.00 payable after the 30th day of his diagnosed heart attack. Once the insurance carrier reviewed his medical file and assessed the claim, a cheque was issued for the full 200,000 – all tax free. Doug and Emily were greatly relieved and grateful that they had this benefit, which allowed Doug to focus on his recovery, while preserving their savings as a couple and alleviating the stress associated with a loss of productive personal income. I strongly recommend that all Canadians, particularly those who are self employed, consider getting some form of critical illness and disability insurance coverage while they are healthy. Eligibility for critical illness insurance coverage ends after the age of 60, and insurability is largely based on a person’s health at the time of application.