Benefit Strategies Inc. > Executive Benefits > Disability Insurance

Canadian Disability Insurance Plans

Alberta’s Benefit Strategies Inc. provides custom executive benefits plans to executives in Alberta and throughout Canada’s western provinces that also include the option for disability insurance coverage.

It’s a sobering question to ask:

How would you pay your bills if a disability or accident prevented you from being able to work?

Ask one of Benefit Strategies’ executive benefits brokers about disability insurance plans designed to protect your income and provide for your family in the event of short or long-term disability.

Call 780 437 5070

Image showing short and long term disability examples in Alberta

Disability Insurance Benefits Alberta

You never know when a serious injury or illness will keep you for working for a prolonged period of time and just how overwhelming this can be to your finances.

In most cases when people face illness or injuries, their current and future income is drastically reduced or ceases to exist, yet their business and personal expenses continue to accumulate.

Canadian disability insurance benefits are designed to protect you and your family by maintaining your income in the event of illness and or injury.

Consider the following statistics by Manulife Financial showing your cumulative risk of suffering a disability or illness lasting more than 90 days:

Age	Cumulative Risk to Age 65
40	18%
50	16%
60	8%

This means if you are 40 you have nearly a 1 in 5 chance of being out of work for more than 90 days due to illness; factors such as gender, family medical history and occupational factors can increase your risk.

Types of Disability Insurance in Alberta

There are two major types of disability insurance plans available in Alberta:

Short Term Disability Insurance Plans – Short term disability benefits help policyholders who suffer temporary illnesses or injury that leave them out of work for brief periods, generally up to 120 days when unemployment insurance may also be available.
Long Term Disability Insurance Plans – Long term disability benefits provide income replacement during extended periods of time, generally 90 days after injury and can last up until the age of 65.

Eligibility for Short and Long Term Disability Insurance Benefits

In Canada most disability insurance plans available through executive benefits packages will cover between 54 and 70% of the eligible policyholder’s gross taxable income, tax-free.

These disability insurance plans can differ on how the insurance companies determine eligibility for disability insurance benefits, which is commonly defined as:

a) Policyholder is unable to perform their current job duties due to injury or illness
or
b) Policyholder is unable to perform job functions at any line of work they are qualified for (education, experience, training) due to injury or illness

Disability Insurance Comparisons and Options

Not all disability insurance policies in Canada are created equal. Our executive benefits specialists can help you get the best disability coverage possible as part of your executive benefits plan.

We can help you understand the different insurance rates and policy options, including:

Waiting Period
How long will you have to wait after illness or disability before payment will begin? Often the waiting period can be up to 30, 60 or 90 days.
Residual Disability
What happens if you develop a progressive disease that causes slow deterioration? Do you have to wait years before you are considered disabled?
Partial Benefits
What happens if you can still work a few hours a day, or only do part of your job?
Long Term Employment Coverage
What happens to your coverage if you change jobs or occupations in the future?

Premiums Return
Do you need an option to have disability insurance premiums returned at a later date, less any claims made?
Income Test
Do you prefer a guaranteed income payout from the time of disability policy purchase or are you comfortable taking an income test to prove your current income supports the benefit payout?
Additional Benefits
Do you need to include other expenses in case of disability such as loans, lease payments, RRSP contributions?

Ask Us About Short and Long Term Disability Insurance Rates

Benefit Strategies’ team of professional executive benefits brokers have nearly 30 years of experience in providing creative and effective ideas for executive benefit plans that may include disability insurance or critical illness insurance.

Benefit Strategies provides personal executive benefits services to ensure that you fully understand your disability insurance policy options, plus terms and coverage.

Benefit Strategies will shop for the best disability insurance coverage to include in your Alberta executive benefits package. We service executives throughout western Canada with a focus on Alberta’s growing communities of Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

For more information about adding an Alberta disability insurance benefit plan as part of your executive benefits package please get in touch.