Critical Illness: Do you know the risks?

If you or your significant other had a heart attack, stroke or cancer, what would happen? Would one of you need to spend more time at work to ensure that you could pay all the bills on one salary? Would one member of the couple want to take time off to care for the other? Would you have to sell your home, cash in your RRSPs, borrow money?

Nobody likes to think about these things, but illness doesn’t discriminate, and it can strike at any time.

You owe it yourself, and your partner, to consider the possibilities and to prepare for them. While the chances of you or your partner developing a critical illness are significant, there are steps you can take to protect your finances—and your peace of mind.

What are the risks?

· Statistics show that you are more likely to suffer a critical illness and survive than to die before age 75*

· When you combine your chances of developing a critical illness with those of your partner, your risk of having to face the financial effects of a critical illness are greatly increased (see the chart below for an illustration)

Probability of a critical illness ^{Chance of having one of 4 major illnesses} ^{(prior to age 75)*}
Present Age	Females	Males	At least one in a couple
25	35 in 100	45 in 100	64 in 100
35	35 in 100	45 in 100	64 in 100
45	34 in 100	44 in 100	63 in 100
55	30 in 100	41 in 100	59 in 100
65	22 in 100	32 in 100	47 in 100

· Statistics show that you are more likely to suffer a critical illness than to die before age 75

	Chance of having one of 4 major illnesses* (prior to age 75)	Chance of dying (prior to age 75)**
Male 45	45 in 100	36 in 100
Female 45	35 in 100	22 in 100

· One out of every three Canadians will suffer from cancer during his or her lifetime.

· 40% of heart attack victims are under age 65.***

Every year, 70,000 Canadians have a heart attack and 50,000 have a stroke

· A critical illness could leave you and/or your spouse with significant financial hardship. You could face destroying your retirement plans, losing your home, or losing your ability to provide an education for your children.

What can you do about it?

Critical illness insurance provides a lump sum benefit if you contract and survive one of the covered conditions, including Cancer, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis and others.** The money can be used to offset expenses that arise from the illness, pay off your mortgage, take time off work, compensate for lost income, or for any purpose you decide. Most importantly, it will give you and your spouse the peace of mind you’ll need to concentrate on recovery.

Critical Illness poses a very real risk. Review the risks with a qualified Advisor at Broker Advantage, and ensure that you have adequate protection in place.

* Probability of being diagnosed with one of the following conditions: Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke, Coronary Artery Bypass, prior to age 75. Note: Critical illness incidence figures reflect all diagnoses regardless of survival. Roughly 5% of people who contract a critical illness will not survive 30 days. Under most critical illness contracts, their estate will receive a return of premium benefit.

Talk to your Broker Advantage advisor about protecting you and your family from a critical illness. If you don't have an advisor, and would like to talk to a Broker Advantage Inc. advisor about Critical Illness insurance, Click Here or call our Toll-Free Customer Care Centre at 1-877-294-1810 Monday-Friday,
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST).

To assess the amount of insurance coverage you need to protect you and your family, Click Here.