Disability insurance
The need: replacing your income if an illness or injury keeps you from working.
Your paycheque pays the mortgage, groceries, and savings. Disability coverage keeps a portion of it coming while you recover.
A free, private needs analysis for life, disability, and critical illness insurance. We start with the biggest obligations, your mortgage and debts, and work down to income replacement and the legacy you want to leave.
Insurance is really about one thing: making sure the plans you've made still happen if something unexpected happens to you. Most families have three distinct needs.
The need: replacing your income if an illness or injury keeps you from working.
Your paycheque pays the mortgage, groceries, and savings. Disability coverage keeps a portion of it coming while you recover.
The need: protecting your savings through a prolonged absence from work due to a serious illness.
A tax-free lump sum after a diagnosis like cancer, a heart attack, or a stroke, so treatment, travel, and time off don't drain your RRSP or emergency fund.
The need: protecting your family's standard of living if you pass away.
It can pay off the mortgage and debts, replace your income for the years your family depends on it, and cover taxes so family property stays in the family.
A few basics so we can size each need to your situation.
These are usually the largest needs. Most families want them paid off so no one has to sell the home or take on payments alone.
With the mortgage and debts handled, how much of your income would your family need each year to keep their standard of living, and for how long?
With no mortgage payment, 50% to 70% is common.
Often until your youngest is independent or your partner retires.
Disability coverage replaces income month to month. Critical illness coverage pays a lump sum so a long recovery doesn't drain your savings.
Check anything that applies. These needs are easy to miss, and they're often the ones families feel most.
Picture a family cottage bought years ago for $200,000 that's now worth $1,000,000. When the owner passes away, the Canada Revenue Agency treats the cottage as if it were sold at today's value. Half of the $800,000 gain is taxable, which can mean a tax bill of roughly $200,000 on the final tax return.
That bill has to be paid before the estate can be settled. With no insurance or cash set aside, the family often has only one option: sell the cottage to pay the tax. The place where summers were spent leaves the family for good. A life insurance policy sized to the tax bill lets the next generation keep it.
A surviving spouse can usually inherit without tax, which delays the bill until the second death.
Large gains are usually taxed near the top rate (about 50% in most provinces).
Based on what you shared, here's a starting point for each type of coverage, after the coverage and savings you already have.
From the biggest obligations down.
This analysis is a simplified estimate for educational purposes only. Income replacement assumes the money is invested to earn 2% a year after inflation. Disability coverage is typically limited to about two-thirds of your income. It is not a recommendation to buy a particular product, and actual coverage depends on underwriting, your health, and the policy's terms. Speak with a licensed advisor before making decisions.
We'll compare options across insurers, including for people with health histories, and design coverage that fits your family and budget.