Disability Insurance (FAQ) search engine queries
Hello, Craig Ferguson here.
You have come to a very popular web page. Most popular it would seem due to the most frequent search of “short term disability” followed by “Ontario” or similar narrowing down phrase.
Short term disability, if not covered by your employer through group insurance, may be covered if you are employee under the UI (Unemployment Insurance) benefit. Please call your local Employment office to find out if you qualify.
If you didn’t come here because you are currently needing short term disability benefits, please ask yourself why so many are.
Why are so many people looking to claim on short term disability? Because they are disabled. And, that short term disability may not be so short. In the long run, it could extend itself to further time off work, or inability to work. It may be a slow but debilitating illness that society perhaps has no place for in the workplace.
More and more, folks who have group LTD plans at work are also falling through the cracks. There are loopholes to protect the insurer and the employer, and reduce the length of claim. This lends itself to the individual employee having nobody willing to pick up the tab. Typically, it goes like this:
- There is a “reasonable” ability to perform the material duties of your occupation built in someone in the LTD wording. If the insurer says you are capable of performing the important duties of your occupation, even if modified, they will then refuse to pay you. When you go back to your employer, there doesn’t seem to be a job for you that would accomodate you, and you are out the door.
- A personal policy that can be used to buffer this scenario is available, and a variety of options exist in the personal disability world that are not available in the group LTD arena.
If you need an example in life insurance, you need not look any further than the comparison of personal insurance vs. mortgage insurance. Completely underwritten differently, and the protections are vastly different.
When you buy insurance, always look to protect yourself. The keyword is personal, or individual, not group.
You don’t want to be in a position to come searching for “short term disability in Ontario” again! Or, for the first time if you didn’t this time.
I’d like to suggest you “turn this ship around,” an allocate your budget in part to protecting the income that forms your budget. Stop the Titanic from hitting the iceberg, as you then watch your finances go down with the ship!
Spread the word. I am here to help, and I can be reached at the number at the top, the chat at the bottom, or through our contact page.
I urge you to utilize my services. I have been in the disability business a while now, and my advice and consultation is free.
Have a question you don’t see here? Please fill out the contact request, and we’d be happy to help!
1) “cost of disability insurance for self employed ontario”: We would help provide you with quotes from several companies. Usually however, based on occupation, we would suggest one, two, or three plans based on what makes sense.
Refer to:
- Occupations favoured by Canada Life
- Canada Life (mid-range risk and rates) by occupation
- Blue Cross Tangible
The bottom line for this search, is we could make recommendations that are mainly based on which company and plan offer the most reasonable rates, and best policy terms for the money.
2) “manulife canada accidental disability”: I would assume here that the question is does Manulife have disability insurance that covers accidental disability. The answer is yes. However, depending on occupation, there are plans from all carriers that will include disability from all means – sickness and acident. Depending on the occupation, you could get coverage for both at very reasonable rates. But, to address just the need for accidental disability, there are several companies that will do just that.
Reference:
3) “ontario wsib contract worker disability insurance” : The issue for companies and contractors is getting tougher. There are several cases where WSIB is questioning the relationship between the client and contractor, and in some cases WSIB is challenging the client to prove that the contractor is indeed independent.
In this case, it is important for the independent contractor to establish an alternative accident or accident and sickness policy obtained privately to show not only independence, but to protect both the client and his/her business and family.
We can help.
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4) “disability insurance alberta” Can we help with disability insurance in Alberta? Yes.
5) “ontario insurance disability wsib replacement”: Good question! Yes, it is recommended for the self-employed to look into alternative coverage to WSIB. We can help you find a plan, based on your occupation that will cover you on or off the job, for sickness and accident, and likely save you money! Call us.
Reference:
6) “disability insurance ontario” Yes, please call us or fill out the contact request form. We will get back to you promptly.
7) “ohip disability benefit” If you are an employee that has become disabled, you should speak with your employer to determine short term disability provisions. You may have to apply to the Unemployment Insurance office to get the UI sick benefit that will pay a maximum 119 days. This, in insurance talk would be considered short-term disability. Plans provided by us are known as Long-term disability or LTD plans. Please contact us for further information.
If you are self-employed and worried about short term disability, it may be worth considering entering into the voluntary EI program that will cover disability. Please note this should act in unison with, and does not replace long-term disability solutions. Please contact us for further discussion. The CFIB has posted this article on the subject.
8 ) “ontario canada disability insurance for self employed” We can help!
Reference:
9) “blue cross flex disability” Perhaps a little jargon mixed. Flex is a Manulife product. But I would assume the question may be does Blue Cross carry disability insurance. Yes they do, and we can help. If the question is does a traditional medical insurance offer disability benefits? The answer would be no. However, Blue Cross does have a benefit plan that ties medical, dental, and offers disability too. But, it is important to get a professionals advice on disability plans, as one size fits all doesn’t always fit.
10) “ontario disability benefits” This is a popular search that scares me. It scares me because it could mean several things, not the least of which implies the searcher may be saying he/she is disabled and is looking for financial help from the government. Yes, it is available, but if you are in financial hardship and need governement assistance due to a disability, then you need to contact your local Social Assistance office.
The question then is….could this have been avoided by a proper review of your disability coverage before now? The answer is yes. If you want to avoid this situation, then please call us.
11) “disability insurance risk classes” Good search! This is the essense of why it is important to speak with an insurance broker trained and experienced with several options and company solutions. For example, Canada Life is a really good insurance company but for occupations such as dental hygienists and hairdressers, the occupation ranking is so far below Blue Cross, that the rate with Blue Cross is 1/3 rd that of Canada Life’s! If you do not speak with a pro, might you get saddled with extra cost? Yes indeed.
Reference: See occupation ranking in # 1 above.
12) “paralegal occupation risk disability” You can look up occupation rankings by Canada Life in #1 above. Paralegals are a class 4 (5 being best) but can be upgraded to a 5 with stability, income, and other factors. Blue Cross ranks paralegals similarly.
13) “disability benefits ontario heart attack” Unless the person who searched this has a disability plan personally or from work, he/she will have to contact the Social Assistance office mentioned in # 10 above.
14) “disability insurance from blue cross” Absolutely! Blue Cross plans are quickly becoming a favorite for good reason – they are competitive in rates, and have an added bonus of turning into LTC (Long-term care) plans at retirement. We can help you with these.
Reference:
15) “ontario blue cross – disability due to illness protection” Please see # 14 above for plan choices that all cover sickness as well as injury.
16) “disability insurance premiums ontario” This depends on your occupation as discussed in # 1, 11, and 12 above. If the search was to see if the Ontario government has a disability plan for everyone, the answer is no. You should look for individual, preferably personal plans that will fit your unique needs. If the search referred to WSIB rates, you would have to see the WSIB site or call them for further information.
17) “disability insurance formula” If this search is related to the “formula” that social assistance would use to determine a disability benefit, you would have to discuss this with the social assistance office mentioned in # 10 above.
However, if this question pertains to individual disability plans, the rule of thumb is disability from all sources usually has an 85% overall maximum rule. Traditional group plans may pay 66.7% or 70% of pre-disability wage, and the benefit is taxable or non-taxable depending on whether the employee pays 100% of the premium or not. If not, the benefit is taxable.
This brings us to the issue of net difference in pay. If taxable, could the employee be down to half his/her paycheque if disabled? Yes.
There are ways to supplement this problem. Mortgage disability insurance as outlined in the link in # 14 above can pay the mortgage payment without consideration to the benefit received on a group or individual plan already in place. This often solves the disability gap, especially if a paycheque is cut in half.
18) “permanent disability benefits ontario” This could have several meanings.
Being permanently disabled may be the same as saying someone is “totally disabled”. Permanent disability means that someone is totally disabled, and the disability will last for life. If this is the case, the person may be looking at discussing this with a Canada Pension Plan office, as this may fall under CPP disability benefits division of the Canadian government.
If someone does not have disability insurance from work or individually, and has a disability that is creating hardship, then he/she would have to contact social assistance as linked in # 10 above.
19) “is periodontal disease a disability” Great search! It opens up the answer.
Any condition that renders an insured “totally disabled” is considered payable under a disability policy. Often, if there are any issues, it is usually the result of information that is not provided. Or, if information is provided it is coming from the wrong source.
As an example, if an insured has a heart condition, then the doctor claiming the insured is totally disabled had better be the specialist – the cardiologist. If the family doctor claims the patient is disabled under these conditions, there may or may not be the proper authority making the judgement.
Peridontal disease may have complications. Infection that enters the bloodstream through the gums can cause heart disease. Don’t get me started! Calling all self-employed people who think you can get away with not going to the dentist!
For more information, please contact us.
20) “cpp short term disability heart attack” As mentioned in #18, the CPP benefit has a rule – the disability must be proven to be permanent. It may take time to prove the case. So, if the person who is disabled needs immediate income assistance, we are back to looking at the provincial assistance office stepping in to help (see #10).
21) “blue cross ontario short term disability” If the plan is a group plan with an employer, you should check with your employer. If the question is does Blue Cross have short term disability plans, this would depend on the plan’s waiting period. It could be as low as zero days for an accident and 30 days for an illness.
If the enquiry is to see if there are plans that pay for short term disability, the answer is traditionally no for individual plans, and yes if set up as a group plan. Otherwise, you would have to apply for EI sickness benefit under the Unemployment Insurance banner.
And finally, many people think of disabilities lasting only a little while. This is not true. The bigger question is would you be able to survive financially with a flu that lasted two weeks, or a heart attack that kept you from working for 2 years or more? Which one would affect your lifestyle the greatest? This is why more consideration should be made to long term disability, and a “savings account” for short term needs.
22) “average cost of self employed disability insurance canada” The cost is dependent on the risk of your occupation, your health, your age, smoking status, and the type of policy you elect. So, it’s a tough one to say what the average is. However, a good rule of thumb is to consider what 80% of your paycheque is worth. What percentage of your current paycheque would you pay to guarantee 80%?
If the percentage was 2% or 3% to guarantee 80% if you cannot work due to disability, would you sacrifice 2 or 3% ? Let’s talk. Please fill out a contact request.
