Life, Accident, Illness & Investment Insurance

Term insurance covers you for a defined period — commonly 10, 20, or 30 years — and pays a tax-free benefit if you die within that term. If you outlive it, the coverage ends.

It is by a wide margin the cheapest way to buy a large amount of protection, which makes it the right answer for most people during the years when their obligations are largest: a mortgage to cover, young children to raise, a partner whose standard of living depends on two incomes.

The needs it covers are temporary by nature, which is exactly why temporary insurance fits them. We help you size the coverage, choose the term length that matches your actual obligations, and understand what happens at renewal.

Whole life covers you permanently, with premiums that are fixed for life and a guaranteed death benefit. It also builds cash value over time, which you can borrow against or withdraw.

It costs considerably more than term for the same face amount, so it isn't a replacement for term coverage — it does a different job. Whole life makes sense for permanent needs: covering the tax that will be owed on your estate, leaving a guaranteed legacy, funding a buy-sell agreement between business partners, or holding value inside a corporation in a tax-efficient way.

If someone recommends whole life without first explaining what permanent need it's solving, ask more questions.

Universal life is permanent coverage with an investment component you control, and flexible premiums within limits.

The flexibility is real: you can vary what you pay, direct the investment side among available options, and adjust coverage as circumstances change. That flexibility also means it requires attention. A universal life policy that's underfunded for years can lapse — and lapsing a permanent policy in your seventies is an expensive mistake.

It suits people who want permanent coverage plus a tax-advantaged place to accumulate, who have already maximized their registered accounts, and who are comfortable reviewing the policy regularly rather than filing it away.

Critical illness insurance pays a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed with a covered condition and survive the waiting period — typically 30 days. Most contracts cover cancer, heart attack, and stroke at minimum, with comprehensive policies covering 20 or more conditions.

The money is yours to use however you like. That's the point. It covers the costs that health care doesn't: the income you lose while recovering, a partner taking unpaid leave, treatment not covered provincially, travel, home modifications, or simply not having to think about money during the worst year of your life.

Life insurance protects the people around you. Critical illness insurance protects you, while you're still here.

Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income — usually 60 to 70 percent, tax-free if you pay the premiums personally — if illness or injury prevents you from working.

For most people under 55, the probability of a long-term disability is meaningfully higher than the probability of death. Yet disability coverage is far more often skipped, largely because people assume their employer plan is sufficient. Group plans are frequently capped, sometimes end after two years, and almost always disappear when you leave the job.

The details matter enormously here. The definition of “disability” in your contract — own occupation versus any occupation — is the difference between a policy that pays and one that doesn't. We read those definitions with you.

Accident and sickness coverage handles the shorter, sharper interruptions: an injury that keeps you off work for a few months, a hospital stay, or health costs that provincial coverage doesn't include.

This category also covers extended health and dental plans for individuals and small businesses, which matters most for self-employed people and contractors who have no group benefits at all. For a business owner, it's often the difference between attracting good employees and losing them to companies that offer benefits.

Long-term care insurance pays a benefit if you need ongoing help with daily activities — bathing, dressing, eating, mobility — whether at home or in a facility.

Canadians consistently underestimate this cost. Provincial coverage for long-term care is limited, private facility costs run into thousands of dollars monthly, and in-home care is expensive over the long run. The bill usually lands on family: adult children reducing their work hours, dipping into their own savings, or making decisions under pressure.

The practical argument for this coverage isn't only financial. It's that it lets you decide in advance what kind of care you receive and where — rather than leaving that decision to your children during a crisis.

If you already own insurance, the most useful thing we can do is look at it.

We check whether the coverage amount still matches your obligations, whether the beneficiary designations are current (this one is wrong surprisingly often, especially after a separation), whether you're paying for riders you don't need, whether a term policy is approaching a renewal that will multiply the premium, and whether newer products would give you the same protection for less.

Sometimes the review concludes that what you have is good and you should keep it. That's a legitimate outcome and we'll tell you so.