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Are you looking for critical illness coverage with no medical exams, no lengthy questionnaires, and no stress? Finding the right protection for unexpected health challenges shouldn’t be difficult.
With The Edge Benefits, you get guaranteed issue coverage, which means no questions asked, no medical tests required—just straightforward, essential coverage.
Whether you’re preparing for the unexpected or seeking protection for your family, The Edge Benefits makes it easy. Their plans are simple to understand, with transparent terms and flexible options tailored to meet your needs. Plus, you can apply quickly and easily, so you’re protected in no time.
Discover if The Edge Benefits’ critical illness plan is the right fit for you. We compare it to other insurance companies’ offerings, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages so you can make an educated decision to protect your financial future.
About The Edge Benefits Inc.
The Edge Benefits began its journey in 1985 under the name Prince And Associates, initially focusing on life insurance, living benefits, and investment products. Over the years, it evolved into a major player in the insurance industry, though it is not an insurance company itself. Instead, The Edge Benefits partners with leading insurers such as Chubb, Beneva, and The Co-operators to provide comprehensive protection under one roof. This approach allows them to offer a diverse range of insurance products tailored to fit the unique needs of their clients.
A key milestone came in 2013 when The Edge Benefits partnered with The Co-operators to launch a suite of disability insurance products. That same year, they introduced their 100% online application system, revolutionizing the way insurance was purchased by eliminating lengthy paper applications. This innovation made their products more accessible and the application process significantly more streamlined for consumers.
Today, The Edge Benefits serves over 60,000 Canadian clients and has a distribution network of 25,000 advisors, while also offering their products directly to consumers. Their long-standing relationships with top insurance providers, combined with their commitment to ease of access, have helped them establish a trusted reputation in the Canadian insurance market.
Along with critical illness insurance, The Edge Benefits offers a diverse lineup of insurance products, including:
- Guaranteed issue life insurance
- Disability insurance
- Health and dental insurance
- Travel insurance
- Group insurance
Key facts about The Edge Benefits Inc.
AM Best Rating: Not rated
Head office: 1255 Nicholson Road, Newmarket, ON, L3Y 9C3
Website: https://www.edgebenefits.com/
Contact phone number: 1-877-902-3343
What Critical Illness Insurance Plans Does The Edge Benefits Offer?
What is critical illness insurance?
Critical illness insurance provides financial protection if you’re diagnosed with a serious medical condition. It pays a tax-free lump sum benefit upon diagnosis of a covered illness, helping you manage expenses such as treatment costs, lost income, and other financial burdens that arise during recovery. This coverage can be essential in maintaining financial stability during challenging times.
What illnesses does it cover?
Critical illness insurance typically covers a wide range of life-threatening conditions. Some of the most common covered illnesses include:
- Life-threatening cancer
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Coronary artery bypass surgery
- Multiple sclerosis
Many critical illness products cover more than 20 conditions.
Who needs critical illness insurance and why?
Critical illness insurance is valuable for anyone who wants financial security in the face of serious health issues. It is particularly important for:
- Primary breadwinners: to cover living expenses and protect their family from financial strain.
- Self-employed individuals: who don’t have employer-provided benefits and might face income loss during recovery.
- People with high-risk health factors: such as a family history of illness.
With the rising costs of healthcare and living expenses, a critical illness can lead to significant financial strain, making this type of insurance a practical solution for many.
How much coverage do you need?
The amount of coverage depends on your personal circumstances, including your financial obligations and living costs. A good rule of thumb is to choose a benefit amount that would cover
- At least one to two years of living expenses
- Rehabilitation costs like physiotherapy
- Expenses for home modifications to improve accessibility
- Travel costs for out-of-country treatment
How to qualify: The underwriting process
Qualifying for critical illness insurance typically involves an underwriting process where insurers assess your health, lifestyle, and family medical history. Traditional underwriting could involve:
- Medical questionnaires: covering your health history
- Medical exams or tests: depending on the insurer and benefit amount
- Doctor’s reports: to get more details about pre-existing medical conditions
This process helps insurers determine your premium rates and eligibility for coverage.
Simplified issue policies: A streamlined approach
A simplified issue policy, like those offered by The Edge Benefits, bypasses much of the traditional underwriting process. These policies offer guaranteed issue coverage, meaning you don’t have to undergo medical exams or answer detailed health questions.
The benefits of simplified issue policies include quick approval, accessibility, and reduced stress. Since they eliminate the complexities of standard underwriting, they are a great option if you are looking:
- For a non-intrusive application process
- To avoid undergoing a medical check-up
- To obtain coverage as soon as possible
However, a downside of simplified underwriting is higher premiums. Because insurers take on more risk by offering coverage without a thorough health assessment, the cost of these policies is generally higher than fully underwritten options. While the convenience and accessibility are attractive, it’s important to weigh this against the potential for increased costs.
Now that you know the basics of critical illness insurance, let’s take a look at the plan offered by The Edge Benefits, called Critical Illness Coverage and underwritten by Chubb Life Insurance Company of Canada.
Critical Illness Coverage
The Edge Benefits offers a guaranteed issue critical illness insurance plan that stands out for its fast underwriting and easy qualification process. Designed to be comprehensive, it covers 25 serious illnesses, aligning with the coverage provided by most of its competitors. The plan is available to individuals aged 18 to 64, making it accessible for a wide range of Canadians seeking protection against unexpected health issues.
Coverage amounts and eligibility
Policyholders can choose a lump sum benefit amount ranging from $5,000 to $125,000. For amounts up to $75,000, no medical questions are required, making it easy to qualify. However, if you’re seeking a benefit above $75,000, you’ll need to answer some basic medical questions as part of the underwriting process. This flexibility allows you to tailor your coverage based on your individual needs and comfort with the qualification process.
Premium structure
Premiums for The Edge Benefits’ plan are age-banded, meaning they increase as you move through different age brackets. The first age band is from 18 to 24, with subsequent 5-year increments (e.g., 25-29, 30-34, 35-39) continuing until the final band of 60-64. This structure reflects the increasing risk of illness as people age, so it’s important to consider how premiums may rise over time when choosing your coverage.
Benefit payments and additional features
The plan pays out the full lump sum benefit after a 30-day survival period following the diagnosis of a covered critical illness. Additionally, it offers a partial payment of 20% of the chosen benefit amount (up to $20,000) for two non-life-threatening conditions: early-stage breast cancer and prostate cancer. This feature provides a financial buffer during less severe but still impactful health events.
Another unique feature is the built-in “second event” benefit. This allows you to receive a second lump sum payout if you are diagnosed with an unrelated critical illness after already receiving a payout for a prior condition. You can even claim for two occurrences of cancer, provided that the recurrence is diagnosed at least 60 months after the initial diagnosis.
Pre-existing condition exclusion
It’s important to note that the plan has a 24/24 month pre-existing condition exclusion. This means that any claim during the first 24 months of the policy resulting from a medical condition you had within the 24 months prior to purchasing the policy will be excluded. After this period, however, you’ll be fully covered for future illnesses.
Child critical illness rider
In addition to your own coverage, you can add a child critical illness rider to protect your children from four specific childhood illnesses, including cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. This rider provides $10,000 in coverage for only $6 per month, offering additional peace of mind for families.
Overall, The Edge Benefits’ critical illness plan combines comprehensive coverage, flexible benefit amounts, and simplified underwriting to provide a straightforward option for individuals and families looking for reliable financial protection against serious health issues.
- Pros:
- Unlike many simplified issue plans, this plan covers a broader spectrum of critical illnesses, going beyond the traditional three of cancer, heart attack, and stroke.
- Its simplified underwriting process eliminates the need for medical exams and doctor's reports, making it quick and easy to get coverage.
- Critical Illness Coverage’s unique second event feature, not available with other insurers, provides crucial financial support if you experience multiple covered illnesses.
- The 20% partial benefit for non-life-threatening cancers is more than the 15% offered by most competitors.
- Cons:
- Age-banding means that premiums increase every five years, making it unaffordable in the later years. This differs from most plans where premiums are guaranteed for a set period, such as 20 years, to age 65, or for life.
- The Critical Illness Coverage includes a 30-day survival period for all covered illnesses, whereas many other insurers limit this waiting period to cardiovascular conditions only.
- The Edge Benefits lacks value-added services like Teladoc Medical Experts or MediGuide Second Opinion, which are commonly offered by many other insurers to provide additional support for policyholders.
Below is a table outlining the key features of Critical Illness Coverage:
Critical Illness Coverage | |
|---|---|
Age eligibility | 18-64 |
Number of illnesses covered | 25 |
Plan types | Rate increases in five-year increments |
Guaranteed premiums | No |
Expiry | Age 70 |
Coverage limits | $5,000 to $125,000 |
Survival period | 30 days for all illnesses |
Partial benefits | Pays 20% of the chosen benefit amount, up to $20,000, for less severe illnesses. Covers two illnesses. Only pays once |
Conversion privileges | No |
Type of underwriting | Simplified underwriting. A medical exam is not necessary |
Riders | Child CI rider |
Value-added service | None |
How to purchase | Directly through The Edge Benefits or through a licensed insurance advisor |
What Illnesses Does The Edge Benefits Critical Illness Insurance Cover?
The Edge Benefits’ Critical Illness Coverage plan provides protection for a total of 25 critical illnesses, offering policyholders a broad range of coverage. This comprehensive list ensures that individuals are safeguarded against a variety of serious health conditions. Here is the complete list of covered illnesses:
- Aorta surgery
- Aplastic anaemia
- Bacterial meningitis
- Benign brain tumour
- Blindness
- Coma
- Coronary artery bypass surgery
- Deafness
- Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease
- Dismemberment
- Heart attack
- Heart valve replacement or repair
- Life-threatening cancer
- Life-threatening cancer recurrence
- Loss of independence
- Loss of speech
- Major organ failure
- Major organ transplant
- Motor neuron disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Occupational HIV infection
- Paralysis
- Parkinson’s disease and specified atypical Parkinsonian disorders
- Severe burns
- Stroke
Critical Illness Coverage also pays partial benefits for two non-life-threatening diseases. Although it covers fewer illnesses than some competitors, this plan offers a higher partial payment, providing 20% of your chosen lump sum, compared to the 15% offered by many other insurers. However, the maximum payout is capped at $20,000, whereas most other insurance companies set this limit at $50,000. The non-life-threatening illnesses covered are:
- Early breast cancer
- Early prostate cancer
If you add the child critical illness rider, it will cover these four additional conditions for children under age 21:
- Cerebral palsy
- Cystic fibrosis
- Down's syndrome
- Muscular dystrophy
How Much Does The Edge Benefits Critical Illness Insurance Cost?
When determining the cost of critical illness insurance with The Edge Benefits, there are a few key factors to consider. Unlike traditional insurance plans, where factors such as smoking status, gender, medical history, and lifestyle significantly impact pricing, The Edge Benefits simplifies their pricing structure. The cost of coverage is only influenced by two factors: age and the amount of coverage selected.
The premiums are age-banded, meaning that the cost of your policy will increase every five years as you move into a new age bracket. On average, you can expect your premiums to rise by 50-70% each time you advance to the next age band. The age bands begin at 18-24, which means that all individuals within this group pay the same premium rate. As you age, you transition through the subsequent bands: 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, and so on, up to the final age bracket of 60-64.
This structure ensures that younger individuals benefit from lower premiums, while the cost gradually increases with age to reflect the higher risk of critical illnesses. Below is a table illustrating the monthly cost for $100,000 of coverage across all age bands:
Age band | Monthly premium |
|---|---|
18-24 | $11 |
25-29 | $17 |
30-34 | $26 |
35-39 | $41 |
40-44 | $64 |
45-49 | $105 |
50-54 | $181 |
55-59 | $300 |
60-64 | $483 |
How Do You Buy The Edge Benefits Critical Illness Insurance Plan?
Buying critical illness insurance from The Edge Benefits is similar to the process with other insurers, but it offers the advantage of a simplified and fast underwriting process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get coverage:
Step 1: Get a quote
You can obtain a quote online if you already know the coverage amount you need. Alternatively, you can consult with a licensed insurance advisor in your province who can guide you in determining the appropriate coverage and assess whether The Edge Benefits is the best fit based on your medical history and financial situation.
Step 2: Review medical questions
For the first $75,000 of coverage, The Edge Benefits offers guaranteed issue, meaning you don’t need to answer any medical or lifestyle questions to qualify. If you require more coverage, up to $125,000, you will need to answer a few questions about your medical history. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you won’t be eligible for the additional coverage.
Step 3: Apply for coverage
Once you’ve decided on your coverage, you can submit an application directly through The Edge Benefits’ website. If you’re working with an insurance advisor, they can assist you in completing the application.
Step 4: Quick approval
With no additional underwriting or medical exams required, your application can be approved swiftly. This streamlined process significantly reduces the waiting time compared to fully underwritten policies.
Step 5: Accept and pay for your policy
After approval, you can review and accept your policy. Make your first payment to activate your coverage, and once completed, you’re officially insured!
Need The Edge Benefits Critical Illness Insurance Quote?
Choosing the right critical illness insurance is a crucial step in protecting your financial future, and we’re here to help. For a free, no-obligation consultation, contact us at info@briansoinsurance.com or call 604-928-1628.
We provide personalized comparisons with other insurance companies to ensure you get the best coverage for your needs. We’re committed to offering ongoing support to make sure your policy continues to align with your changing financial and personal circumstances.
Additionally, we realize that critical illness insurance is one piece of the puzzle in your overall insurance plan. That’s why we can also design a comprehensive insurance solution that includes life, disability, and health and dental insurance. If you prefer, use the form below to receive a quote directly to your inbox. Take the first step towards peace of mind and get in touch with us today!
Get Your Critical Illness Insurance Quote Now
While we make every effort to keep our site updated, please be aware that timely information on this page, such as quote estimates, or pertinent details about companies, may only be accurate as of its last edit day. Brian So Insurance and its representatives do not give legal or tax advice. Please consult your own legal or tax adviser. This post is a brief summary for indicative purposes only. It does not include all terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions, and other provisions of the policies described, some of which may be material to the policy selection. Please refer to the actual policy documents for complete details which can be provided upon request. In case of any discrepancy, the language in the actual policy documents will prevail. A.M. Best financial strength ratings displayed are not a warranty of a company’s financial strength and ability to meet its obligations to policyholders.
