Engineers Canada Disability Income Replacement Plan

This affordable disability insurance plan can provide you with a generous monthly benefit to replace lost income if a serious illness or accident keeps you from making a living.

Rates:

For information regarding rates click here

This comprehensive Plan covers you for 6 types of disability:

Total Disability Benefit

Means you are unable to perform the regular and important duties of your occupation and are not engaged in any other occupation. You must be under the ongoing care of a physician. Benefits are paid as long as you are Totally Disabled, and may continue for life if you are disabled due to an accident, or to age 70 if disability is due to an illness.

Residual Disability Benefit

Means you are able to return to your regular occupation in a limited capacity but have a loss of earnings of at least 20%, or you cannot return to your regular occupation but are performing another occupation with a loss of earnings of at least 20%. (Residual Disability must start before age 60.) If you are Residually Disabled, a percentage of your benefit may be paid to age 70 (if disability is due to an accident or illness).

The Residual Disability Benefit is illustraed in the following example:

If Paul was earning $6,000.00 a month before becoming disabled and $3,600.00 a month since becoming disabled, he has lost 40%, or $2,400.00, of his monthly earnings. However, since Paul purchased disability income replacement coverage of $3,000.00 he got a residual disability benefit equal to 40% of that $3,000.00, or $1,200.00 each month. Furthermore, that $1,200.00 monthly beneift is tax free.

Partial Disability Benefit

Means you are unable to perform one or more of the important duties of your regular occupation (or are unable to perform them for more than half the time usually required), or are unable to work more than 20 hours a week at another gainful occupation. If you are Partially Disabled following a Total Disability that starts on or after age 60 but before age 70, the plan pays 50% of your regular benefit for up to six months.

Presumptive Disability

Even if you are able to work, you will be considered Totally Disabled and receive Total Disability benefits if, due to an accident or illness (occurring while insured), you irrecoverably lose the entire use of: both hands; both feet; one hand and one foot; sight in both eyes; hearing in both ears; or speech. Benefits will be paid for the benefit period for an illness whether your loss was due to an illness or accident.

Recurring Disability

If you return to work but suffer a subsequent period of Total Disability resulting from the same illness or accident within six months, the second period of disability will be considered a continuation of the first. Benefits will resume and you will not have to satisfy another elimination period.

Catastrophic Loss

You will receive 125% of your monthly disability benefit if you are deemed Totally Disabled because you have experienced a catastrophic loss (Self Care, Transfer and Mobility, Cognitive Ability and Terminal Illness).

Note: If you become disabled, the monthly benefit you receive will be based on your pre-disability income. If your income decreases after you purchase coverage, your monthly benefit may also decrease.

Extra features of the disability income replacement plan, included at no additional cost:

Future Increase Option Benefit

Each year on the option date you may be eligible to purchase additional disability insurance by up to 15% of your original coverage, without providing proof of good health. To purchase an option, you must be under age 55 and actively at work. Financial information may be required to substantiate the increase in your coverage as well as any increase will be subject to the same terms and conditions as your existing coverage. If you do not purchase additional coverage using your options within any consecutive 3 year period, your options will end.

Waiver of Premium

You may qualify to have this coverage continue free of charge while you are receiving monthly benefit payments if your total disability continues for three consecutive months (or the elimination period, if longer).

Automatic Cost of Living Adjustments

Your monthly benefits will be adjusted according to the annual change in the Consumer Price Index (up to 5%) after 12 consecutive months of disability to offset the effects of inflation while you are disabled. Such increases will be compounded annually.

Death Benefit

If you die prior to age 70 and while receiving monthly disability benefit payments, an amount equal to three times your monthly benefit will be paid to your named beneficiary.

Guaranteed Re-entry (Unique Feature)

If you cancel your insurance under this program after being insured for 2 consecutive years to join an employer-sponsored group program, you can rejoin this program later and reinstate your original coverage, without providing proof of good health, provided you reapply within 10 years of cancellation, are under age 55 at the time of reapplication and apply within 90 days of withdrawal from the employer-sponsored plan.

Coverage Between Jobs

If you become disabled within 12 months following your last employment, your benefit will be calculated using your average monthly earnings during your most recent 12 months of employment.

Conversion Provision (Unique Feature)

If the contract between the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers and Manulife Financial were to terminate and you were not provided with coverage under either a new CCPE contract or a contract arranged by an affiliate organization, you would be entitiled to convert your coverage to a then current Manulife Financial individual guaranteed renewable disability policy, without the need to provide proof of good health.

Cost of living buy back option (Unique Feature)

After a period of total disability for which you recieved increased benefits due to the cost of living adjustment, you may elect to retain the new increaaed benefit amount. The new benefit amount would be equal to the sum of the basic monthly benefit plus any cost of living adjustment benefits declared during any period of disability. This option must be elected within 30 days of any return to work date. Your premium payments would be increased to reflect the new increased benefit amount.

Guaranteed benefit reinstatement rider (Unique Feature)

This rider allows you to reduce your disability coverage (to a minimum of $500.00) if you become over insured due to a temporary reduction in income - then reinstate the coverage without proof of good health wihen your income increases again. The rider can only be purchased when benefits are reduced. The cost of the rider is 10% of the premium chargeable on the portion of the coverage that has been reduced. The rider will terminate upon either the date of reinstatement of the monthly benefit or at age 65.

In order to claim benefits you must:

1. Not be gainfully employed.
2. Be under the regular care of a physician.
3. Satisfy the minimum criteria in one of four categories – Self Care, Transfer and Mobility, Cognitive Ability, or Terminal Illness.
   

Determining your eligibility
Your are eligible to apply for Engineers Canada - sponsored disability income replacement plan coverage or business overhead expense plan if you are under age 65, a Canadian resident, and are:

A member of one of the participating Engineers Canada provincial/territorial liscencing associations/ordre;

A member of the Association of Professional Geo-Scientists of Ontario or the Ordre des geologues du Quebec;

A member of one of the participating provincial technicians and technologists associations or societies (Eg. ASET).

A member of the Manitoba Assication of Architects, The Architects Association of New Brunswick, The Nova Scotia Association of Architects, or The Architects Association of Prince Edward Island;

A full time employee of the Engineers Canada or one of Engineers Canada provincial/territorial liscencing associations/ordre, or one of the participating organizations, or The Youth Science Foundation; or

A limited liscencee or person who is enrolled in a C.E.A.B. accredited engineering program and who expects to graduate within 24 months.

Before your application for insurance (increase or change in coverage), can be approved, you must provide satisfactory proof of good health. This involves completing the health questionnaire requirements.

After reveiwing your questionnaire, Manulife Financial may require that you provide additional medical and/or financial information and/or undergo a medical exam. Please note that, based on your health information, Manulife Financial may offer insurance on an alternative basis or may decline to offer coverage.

Limitations and exclusions
Your insurance does not cover:

1. self inflicted Injury, while sane or insane;
2. war or any act of war;
3. active full-time service in the armed forces of any country or international organization, or
4. committing or attempting to commit an assault or criminal offence.

Your authorized insurance representative is always ready to discuss this Plan with you, to help you determine what coverage best suits your needs and to help you complete your application. You can get in touch with your local representative today.

For additional details contact us

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