Should you take out an individual life insurance policy?

A couple of recent studies have thrown up some interesting findings regarding the life insurance situations of many Canadians. One such study, carried out by the Life Insurance and Market Research Association, found that although 61% of Canadians held a life insurance of some type, only 38% held their own, individual life insurance policy.

This arrangement can carry a number of risks, such as:

• If you rely too heavily on the life insurance provided by your employer, you are vulnerable to changes in circumstances that may occur. For example, if your employer changes or cancels the policy you will lost protection. Equally, if you lose your job for any reason, your insurance coverage will be cancelled too.
• The maximum life coverage offered in lots of group plans is only two times annual earnings, whereas individual policies can offer higher ratios.
• If your group plan offers critical illness coverage, the amount is generally quite low.
• Generally speaking, when you retire at the age of 65, your group insurance plan will cease whereas it is clearly preferable to continue life insurance coverage after this age. Trying to change your group life insurance plan to an individual one can be expensive; therefore, the best option is usually to think ahead and purchase such a plan earlier in life.

It would appear, therefore, that the majority of Canadians rely too much on the benefits provided by their employer to cover themselves and their families.

Please contact me if you are interested in safeguarding the future of yourself and your family and I can support you in finding an individual life insurance plan that suits your needs.