Many falsely believe they will not be victims of a critical illness like cancer, heart attack or stroke. They also believe that if they do experience a serious illness, the healthcare system will look after them. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Many mistakenly believe that if they need Long Term Care, either in their home or in a facility, the cost will be covered by provincial health care or other government agencies. While certain programs are available, a large portion of these costs become the responsibility of the patient or their family.
Graham*, like millions of other Canadians, has and uses credit cards. He often carries a balance from month to month and is concerned about making the monthly payments if he becomes disabled or gets seriously ill. Graham doesn't want to stick his family with the balance if he dies before paying it off.
For many small business owners, what began as a bright idea or an innate desire to exercise their entrepreneurial spirit turned into a new enterprise with the promise to provide for them and their families. Even the most successful small businesses are significantly reliant upon the continued health, vision and skills of the business owner or a key person. Without the owner or key person, the likelihood of the business continuing is greatly diminished. It can mean instant death for the business with devastating consequences for the owner, employees and their families.
Besides 'death' and 'taxes', the other certainty in life is that life is full of unexpected events. So why aren't we more prepared for financial stresses when they occur?
With the odds of an unexpected event such as a job loss, a medical emergency, a debilitating accident, or a death in the family fairly high when you consider them all together, many Canadian families are just one paycheque away from financial disaster. When these risks are considered as a whole, the question is not IF a financial shock will occur, but when.
We've all read or heard about the unlucky family that is wiped out by a house fire and didn't have any fire insurance. All too often, people mistakenly believe that it won't happen to them. The reality is that bad things CAN happen and there is nothing that guarantees they will be immune from disaster. Insurance is simply an economical way to protect ourselves from the financial loss a tragedy can bring.
