Nothing can replace Life and Disability Insurance protection as your first lines of defense against the financially devastating effects of a serious illness or injury. However, there may be an occasion when you've survived only to be faced with significant costs not provided for by these plans. The Canadian Bar Insurance Association Critical Illness rider is designed to help you close the gaps in your overall financial protection strategy.

The following is a brief description of the CBIA Critical Illness Rider and is not intended to be considered part of any contract. For complete details please refer to the Policy Provisions, a copy of which is available from your Authorized Representative Wise Financial Group Inc..

Plan Description

The Canadian Bar Insurance Association's Critical Illness Rider is designed to provide a lump sum payment, after the Survival Period, if you are diagnosed with one of the illnesses covered under this policy. This benefit can help offset some of the extraordinary costs of surviving a serious illness. These expenses could include:

• Non-medical costs (e.g. travel and accommodations) associated with receiving medical treatments in Canada)
• Costs for private medical treatment outside Canada
• Altering one's home
• Nursing services
• Paying off debts
• Enhancing a pension plan
• Housekeeping services or childcare costs

It is not necessary that your illness or injury prevents you from working to be eligible for benefits. This coverage is level until age 65 and decreases on the policy anniversary following age 66 by 10% of the initial face amount each year. Premiums are payable until age 73 and the coverage terminates on the policy anniversary following your 75th birthday or your early termination of the Term Life plan to which this benefit is attached.

Survival Period

The survival period is the number of days the insured must survive following the diagnosis of a Critical Illness in order for a benefit to be payable. Normally, the Survival Period is 30 days except if a longer period is specified in the definition of the corresponding illness. In the event the insured is placed on artificial life support, the date of death will be considered to be the date the insured experiences irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain (including the brain stem) as determined by generally accepted medical criteria.

Life Threatening Cancer

No benefits will be available for Life Threatening Cancer, unless the coverage has been in force for at least 90 days, or where there are any symptoms within the first 90 days of issue that lead to a diagnosis of cancer.

Eligibility

The CBIA Critical Illness benefit is a rider on our Term Life plan and is not available on a stand-alone basis. For this reason, you must currently own or have applied for our Term Life benefit in order to apply for the Critical Illness benefit rider. You must also be under age 65, be resident in Canada and a member of the legal profession, their spouse or law firm staff. You are not permitted to maintain the Critical Illness rider without an in-force CBIA Term Life plan.

Amounts of Coverage Available

You may purchase from $25,000 up to $1,000,000 of benefit. For non-income earning spouses, coverage will be limited to the lesser of the following:

• $250,000 or;
• 3 times the wage earner's income

Covered Illnesses

The following conditions are covered:

• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Life Threatening Cancer
• Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Blindness
• Deafness
• Loss of Speech
• Kidney Failure
• Major Organ Transplant
• Paralysis
• Loss of Limbs
• Coma
• Motor Neuron Disease
• Severe Burns
• Occupational HIV
• Parkinson's Disease
• Alzheimer's

This list is intended to be a brief outline of the covered conditions. Eligibility may be subject to a specific diagnosis by a qualified physician. While the normal Survival Period is 30 days, it may be longer for certain illnesses. Please refer to the Policy Provisions available from your Authorized Representative Wise Financial Group Inc. for additional details.

back to top