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Did you know that one in two Canadians lives paycheque to paycheque? How can they meet their financial commitments if they suddenly lose their ability to earn an income due to a disability? Can they afford to pay their bills or keep their home?
That’s where long-term disability insurance helps. It works when you can’t by providing a monthly benefit to pay ongoing expenses. Best of all? The benefit is tax-free.
Several insurance companies offer long-term disability insurance, including iA Financial Group, also known as Industrial Alliance. How does iA disability insurance stack up against the competition? Read on to find out.
About iA Financial Group
iA Financial Group, the business name of Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., is one of the largest insurance companies in Canada. Its operations in Canada and the United States have over 8,000 employees and 4 million clients.
Industrial Alliance provides four main lines of business: individual insurance, individual wealth management, group insurance, and group savings and retirement.
On the individual insurance front, iA offers life insurance coverage, critical illness insurance, disability and income insurance, and accident insurance. Its robust lineup of life insurance coverage includes universal life, whole life, and term life insurance.
Key facts about iA Financial Group
AM Best Rating: A+
Head office: 1080 Grande Allée West, PO Box 1907, Station Terminus, Quebec City, QC, G1K 7M3
Website: https://ia.ca
Contact phone number: 1-800-463-6236
What Disability Insurance Plans Does iA Financial Group Offer?
Whether you are self-employed, a small business owner, an employee, a fee-for-service professional, or work in a hard-to-insure occupation, iA Financial Group has a disability and income insurance policy for you.
Superior Program
The Superior Program provides comprehensive disability and income insurance if you can’t work because of an illness or accident. Available for ages 18-59, it gives you personalized coverage options by letting you choose the waiting period, benefit period, and riders to fit your budget. It provides up to $10,000 in monthly benefits tax-free after a waiting period of 14, 30, 60, 90, or 119 days.
- Pros:
- Flexible coverage allows you to buy accident-only coverage with illness as an optional benefit.
- You don't need to satisfy a waiting period to start receiving benefits if you are hospitalized for over 18 hours.
- Your disability coverage increases with the inflation rate each year, helping you keep pace with the cost of living.
- Cons:
- As a guaranteed renewable contract, Industrial Alliance reserves the right to increase the premium yearly.
- You may have to prove your income when you claim disability benefits.
- Monthly benefit amounts above $1,200 are reduced by other sources of disability income insurance like auto and group insurance.
Acci-jet Program
As a simplified issue product, the Acci-jet Program does not require a medical exam to purchase. It covers you for accidents and soft tissue injuries and is designed for those who have pre-existing medical conditions like diabetes, heart attack, or cancer.
- Pros:
- Industrial Alliance lets you easily qualify for up to $6,000 in monthly benefit with no medical exam.
- You can add illness coverage by answering nine simple questions to protect against disabilities caused by diseases as well.
- Protect your retirement with an age 70 benefit period, which is longer than age 65 offered by most insurance companies.
- Cons:
- Coverage is more expensive than the Superior Program to account for the more lax underwriting standard.
- Does not cover any mental, psychological, or psychiatric disease or disorder like depression, anxiety, stress, or burnout.
- Soft tissue injuries such as sprains, strains, tendinitis, or bursitis are limited to 30 days benefit period for occupation class B or C.
Acci 7 PLUS
The Acci 7 PLUS provides simplified accident insurance coverage for the entire family. The ‘7’ in the name is derived from the fact that payment is guaranteed in seven days, as well as the cost of $7/month per unit of coverage. For example, one unit equals $700 in monthly payment if disability occurs by accident, costing $7/month.
- Pros:
- $7/month gets you access to affordable disability insurance coverage for accident-related expenses.
- You can buy flexible accident insurance with five coverages: disability in case of an accident, accidental death and dismemberment, accidental fracture, extended medical care, and hospital benefit.
- Accessible coverage for ages 0-74 with no restriction on occupation—even the unemployed can buy it.
- Cons:
- Not suitable as an income replacement product because it only pays up to $1,400/month.
- It also only pays for seven months, so it doesn't offer disability insurance protection to meet your long-term financial commitments.
- As an injury-only plan, it does not provide any illness coverage.
Universal Loan Insurance
Universal Loan Insurance provides creditor protection to all borrowers. If you become disabled, the insurance will cover all your loans, including mortgage payments, credit cards, or car payments. It even covers your rent.
- Pros:
- It provides comprehensive coverage for your loans, which is beneficial for self-employed people who have a difficult time getting traditional disability insurance because of a lack of income history or unstable earnings.
- One single policy to cover all your loans, including your mortgage, credit card, line of credit, car loan, and investment loan.
- A perfect complement to your group disability insurance plan through your employer since those benefits do not reduce the amount you get from Universal Loan Insurance.
- Cons:
- The maximum benefit period for rent is only two years.
- iA Insurance requires proof of loan or rent at the time of a disability claim.
- The maximum coverage for a non-working spouse is only $1,000/month.
Here is a table comparing the products side by side:
Superior Program | Universal Loan | Acci-Jet Program | Acci 7 Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Target market | Comprehensive personal coverage for self-employed workers, employees, business owners | Coverage for personal loans like mortgage, car, line of credit, credit card | Simplified underwriting suitable for higher risk occupations like truck and taxi drivers, construction workers, manual labourers | Complete accident product designed for the entire family, all types of workers, even the unemployed |
Covers | Injury only with illness add-on | Injury or illness | Injury only with illness add-on | Injury only |
Definition of disability | Regular occupation for two years (can be extended to the entire benefit period) | Regular occupation | ||
Age eligibility | 18-59 | 18-69 | 18-74 | |
Occupation classes | 4A, 3A, 2A, A, B, C | None | ||
Occupation class upgrades | Yes | No | N/A | |
Waiting periods | 14, 30, 60, 90, or 119 days | 30, 60, or 90 days | 0, 30, or 119 days | None |
Benefit periods | Two, five years, to age 65 | Two, five years, to age 70 | Seven months | |
Minimum coverage | $500 | $300 | $500 | $700 |
Maximum coverage | $10,000 | $5,000 | $6,000 | $1,400 |
Medical exam required | Yes, above a certain age and amount | No | ||
Premium guarantee | Not guaranteed | |||
Expiry | Age 65 | Age 70 | Age 80 | |
Riders | Return of premiums, retroactive benefit, indexed benefit, partial disability, accidental death and dismemberment, accidental fracture, hospital benefit | Return of premiums, partial disability, accidental death and dismemberment, accidental fracture, hospital benefit | Accidental death and dismemberment, accidental fracture, hospital benefit | |
Disability insurance products for businesses
Business overhead expense insurance: You receive reimbursement for your fixed business expenses for up to two years after a short 30-day waiting period, helping you keep your business afloat during a disability. Overhead expense insurance is an optional add-on to the Superior Program and Acci-jet Program.
How Much Does iA Disability Insurance Cost?
Because iA Financial Group has so many disability insurance products, the cost varies widely. In general, medically underwritten products like Superior Program and Universal Loan Insurance cost less than simplified issue products like Acci-jet Program and Acci 7 PLUS.
That’s because, in the first two, Industrial Alliance checks your medical history to ensure it only offers disability insurance to people in good health. Whereas with the latter two, people in poor health with a higher chance of becoming disabled can still obtain coverage.
Several factors determine the price, including your age, gender, smoking status, and occupation. Also, expect to pay more if you choose coverage options like a shorter waiting period or longer benefit period.
Below is a table showing the monthly premiums for the Superior Program. The sample insured is a non-smoker in a low-risk occupation like a doctor, lawyer, or accountant. It will pay $5,000 in monthly income after a 90-day elimination period, payable to age 65.
Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
25 | $64 | $78 |
30 | $75 | $89 |
35 | $103 | $120 |
40 | $144 | $164 |
45 | $199 | $223 |
50 | $267 | $296 |
55 | $304 | $319 |
Verdict: Our iA Disability Insurance Review
Should you buy a disability insurance policy from iA Financial Group? Overall, Industrial Alliance has excellent products that fit many demographics. Although the $10,000 monthly benefit cap limits the appeal to high-income professionals and business owners, iA disability insurance products are suitable for most workers.
Here are what we like and dislike about disability insurance from Industrial Alliance.
- Pros:
- Besides the usual occupation classes available to every insurance company (4A, 3A, 2A, A, and B), iA disability insurance also has class C for hazardous occupations that would otherwise be uninsurable. For example, jobs with nuclear radiation exposure, flight attendants, actors, air-traffic controllers, pilots, taxi drivers, martial arts instructors, musicians, and models would all be classified as occupation class C.
- Industrial Alliance is one of the few insurers to offer disability insurance for loans to cover your mortgage and other debts.
- A lower price discrepancy between males and females means women may pay less for coverage than with other insurance companies.
- The injury-only option on most plans gives you flexibility if a pre-existing condition makes you ineligible for illness coverage.
- If you add the return of premiums rider, you can get half the money you paid back, less any disability claims, at age 55, 60, or 65.
- Because they are guaranteed renewable, iA disability insurance products are priced lower than those from RBC Insurance and Canada Life, which offer non-cancellable policies.
- Save on the policy fee when you bundle term life insurance and critical illness insurance together with disability insurance.
- Cons:
- Unlike other insurers, iA disability insurance products are not non-cancellable. Therefore, the cost is not guaranteed and can increase if the claims experience is poor.
- All disability insurance products that iA offers are through an insurance agent, so you can't buy directly from the insurance company.
- Despite not needing proof of income when purchasing disability coverage, it is required at claim time, so providing it during a health crisis may cause a headache.
How Do You Sign Up For iA Disability Insurance?
You can get any disability insurance products iA offers through an insurance agent. While this may be a roadblock for some people who want to bypass the middleman, an insurance agent can help facilitate the process. Many things that happen behind the scenes from application to issuance of the policy, so a qualified agent can help you navigate the underwriting process.
The application itself only takes a few minutes via electronic submission. Since you can get temporary insurance as soon as you apply, you’ll be covered during underwriting, which could take a few weeks.
As part of the underwriting process, you will have to answer medical questions over a telephone interview. On top of that, you may also have to undergo a medical exam, where a health practitioner gathers blood pressure readings and blood and urine samples.
Once Industrial Alliance receives the information, it will determine if you are a good fit for disability coverage. It will either approve your application, apply exclusions for pre-existing conditions, or decline your submission due to medical or lifestyle concerns.
Need An iA Disability Insurance Quote?
Your greatest asset is not your home or investment portfolio—it is your ability to earn an income. Consider that a 30-year-old making $50,000 will have over $3 million in earnings by the time they turn 65. Getting a long-term disability insurance policy will protect your income-earning ability.
Whether it’s iA Insurance or another insurance company, we will assess your needs and determine the right policy for you. Contact us at info@briansoinsurance.com or 604-928-1628 for a free consultation or a quick quote.
Get Your Disability 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.
