Health Insurance can Solve Canadian’s #1 Financial Worry – Health & Wellness

Vast majority of Canadians do not own proper health insurance

Health insurance is covers Canadians from a myriad of risks. Health insurance is not just one product, but covers Medical and Dental Insurance, Disability Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance and Long Term Care Insurance. Unfortunately, many, many Canadians a woefully under-insured for these health risks, even though research shows that the #1 financial planning concern for Canadians is health and wellness.

Here are some basic statistics for you:

• The chances of suffering a long term disability or critical illness before age 65 is well over 50%
• 1 in 2 Canadians will need long term care assistance in their lives
• Only 5% of adult Canadians own critical illness insurance
• Only 4% of adult Canadians over 45 own long term care insurance
• Less than 60% of working Canadians have income protection from disability insurance (personal or group coverage)

Health risks in the news daily

We’ve all heard the tragic headlines around the impacts of health care in Canada:

Family financially struggles in fight with cancer.

The need for long term care in Canada set to explode.

Life saving cancer drugs not covered by provincial health care.

Government warns of bed shortages in loing term care facilities.

We all know one of the biggest risks to our quality of life and our finances is our health. So why are so many Canadians complacent about preparing themselves for these risks? I think there is still an expectation that the government and our universal health care system will take care of us – from the cradle to the grave.

If that was the case, we wouldn’t hear on the news so often about friends and families trying to raise money for someone fighting a disease like cancer. The government can no longer afford to be the financial security blanket for every Canadian. The responsibility is yours – to plan for the health risks we all face. Don’t become a statistic or a sad news headline.

Changes economy, health care and social structure increases the need for health insurance

Our economy is changing and the government services we can expect are changing with them. When the Canada Health Act was passed in the 1950s, giving all Canadians universal health care, the average life expectancy was in the late 60s. Now, the avertage man lives to almost 80 and Canadian women live to 83. This is an additional 15 plus years of health care for each and every Canadian that the Canada Health Act never factored in when created.

The federal government passes the responsibility for health care onto the provinces. It has become more and more common in Canada for provincial health care systems to delist services that are not explicitly covered in the Canada Health Act. Also, providing long term care assistance has become a real challenge. Today there are beds only for the most severe cases and waiting lists over a year long to get a bed. And the baby boomers haven’t even hit the long term care system yet!

The financial responsibility for own health care has to shift to us personally. We can no longer expect the government to provide for our needs. If you do, I’m afraid you will be sorely disappointed and it will probably cost you or your family a lot of money.

Changes to Canadian Workplace create health insurance needs

Another major social change is the changing workplace in Canada. No longer can we expect to stay at the same company for many years and retire, collecting a pension. More Canadians are becoming self employed, working for small companies, or starting their own company. Stats-Canada says that each year about 145,000 companies are started in Canada.

There are now over 2 million Canadians who are self employed. Each of these people typically has no insurance benefits they would have from a group insurance plan from a large companies plan. People need to plan for their own income protection, critical illness risks and ongoing health and dental expenses.

Health insurance protection aligns with values of Canadians

If you think about it, the reasons to buy health insurance are very much aligned with the traditional values of Canadians.

• Freedom and self reliance
• Protecting and nurturing families
• Planning for our financial future
• Social security for those less fortunate

Health insurance is a financial planning tool available to many Canadians who are middle income families or the wealthy. Reasons to buy health insurance match up well with our common values above:

• Freedom to seek the care we need and want
• Insuring your family can move forward even in the face of serious illness of one of the family members
• Protecting the retirement savings and long term planning we are building
• Leaving resources in the health care system for the less fortunate who can’t afford health insurance premiums

Upcoming articles on health insurance

This is only the first article in a series of “Focus on Health Insurance” articles. Over the next few weeks keep your eyes open for upcoming articles on the following topics:

• Health insurance for growing families
• Health insurance as part of your retirement plan
• What health insurance do you need as you enter the retirement years
• Long Term Care Insurance: The Cost of Not Having Any in Canada
• Critical illness insurance for the business market
• Critical illness insurance is too big a risk to ignore

Contact Life Guard Insurance for your health insurance needs

Do you need a health insurance plan? We can help. Contact Life Guard Insurance to be put in contact with a health insurance broker in your area today.

The article was written by Mitch Reynolds+. If you found this article interesting or it made you think, please feel free to share your comments below. Liking us on Facebook, giving us a +1 on Google or Tweeting this article  Focus on Health Insurance would be very much appreciated.

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