You’ve had the question come up before — “What matters most in life?”, to which the obvious answer is (usually) “family”. Well, there’s a number of ways we provide for our families, but when it comes down to it there is just one root of it all… money. That’s why disability and critical illness insurance matter.

Income is so deeply tied to lifestyle that it’s almost impossible to separate the two. If you look at what you do in a given week, odds are that each thing has a monetary value.

“I like to watch movies”, well at home you’ll need a TV and Netflix subscription, otherwise you’re paying close to $20 for popcorn. “I ski in the winter, or bike in the summer”, your pass, your commute, your maintenance for gear — it all costs something.

“But Mr. Insurance, I don’t need to spend money on my activities, I go hiking and camping in my free time, or stay in at home and cook”… Yes, those too have a cost associated. Unfortunately there’s no getting away from it, and the cost of living in BC isn’t helping much either!

Keep cash coming in the door. That’s the key to lifelong happiness.

Most homeowners consider fire insurance to be essential, right? If your home were to go up in smoke uninsured, it could be a catastrophic financial hit to your family.

But let’s consider how income stacks up in comparison.

Let’s say you earn $40,000 per year. Over a 30 year career, that would total 1.2M before taxes.

Now, it’s fairly safe to assume that most individuals that start at $40,000 per year will end up making significantly more than that over a 30 year career.

The average home in the Central Okanagan cost $678,156 last year, about half of what someone making just $40,000 for 30 years would have made.

Disability and Critical Illness Insurance, it’s like a fire extinguisher for your financial life.

Let’s stop looking at insurance as if it’s some scary thing. There’s nothing scary about continuing to earn an income despite not being able to work — that’s actually a reason to celebrate!

It’s true that many employers offer some type of disability insurance. It’s worth taking a few minutes to check your policy to ensure that. Whether you do or don’t, there’s no harm in evaluating what’s out there.

Depending on your existing coverage, a supplemental plan could be the ticket to a safe future without chipping away at your earnings. Don’t have a plan? Don’t start sweating bullets — that could be dangerous and might be worth seeing a doctor about.

Already sweating bullets? Well that’s what critical illness insurance is for! It provides financial aid when you need to be focusing solely on your health and getting well.

If you’ve been working away in a career for years, gaining experience as you go, that’s what you need to be protecting.

Life’s uncertainties shouldn’t be your problem — let us shoulder that burden for you.