Disability Income Protection

Engineers Canada-sponsored Disability Income Replacement Insurance helps to replace a portion of your income if you become injured or ill and can't work. It provides monthly benefit payments, based on a percentage of your monthly earnings, while you are disabled and unable to perform your occupation.

Elimination Period is the number of days during which no benefits are payable. After satisfying the  elimination period, monthly benefit will be payable to you.

The Disability Income Replacement Plan ensures your income and lifestyle continues uninterrupted with maximum monthly benefit payment up to $15,000. These extra features are included at no extra cost:

• Compassionate Care Benefit
  Provides three times your monthly benefit amount in one lump sum if a family member (spouse or child) is injured, or diagnosed with a terminal illness, and has 12 months or less to live.
• Automatic Cost of Living Adjustments Benefit (COLA)
  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.
• Future Increase Option Benefit (FIO)
  Once insured, you may be eligible to purchase additional disability insurance (up to 15% of your original coverage) without providing proof of good health.
• Waiver of Premium
  Your coverage continues at no charge to you while receiving monthly benefit payments if your total disability continues for 3 consecutive months (or the elimination period, if longer).
• Guaranteed Re-Entry
  After being insured for 2 consecutive years, if you cancel this plan coverage to join an employer group plan, you can rejoin this program later and reinstate your original coverage – without having to provide proof of good health at time of application – as long as you reapply within 10 years of cancellation and 90 days of leaving the employer group plan, and are under age 55.
• Coverage Between Jobs
  If you become disabled within 12 months of your last employment, your benefit payments will be calculated using your average monthly earnings during your most recent 12 months of employment.
• Death Benefit
  If you die before age 70 while receiving monthly benefit payments, your beneficiary or estate will receive a lump sum equal to three times your monthly benefit (up to $45,000).
• Conversion Provision
  If the contract between Engineers Canada and Manulife terminates, you may be eligible to convert your coverage to a current Manulife individual guaranteed-renewable disability policy, without providing proof of good health at time of application.
• TIP: Do you have disability coverage at work but think it’s not enough?
  You can top it up by finding the difference between your employer group plan at work and any benefit room available based on your earned income, then purchase Disability Income Replacement Plan to cover that difference to ensure you and your family get the full protection.

This comprehensive disability insurance covers six different types of disabilities when you experience an illness or accident:

1. Total

• Unable to do the regular duties of your job;
• Not working in any other occupation; and
• Under the ongoing care of a physician.

Paid for as long as totally disabled, and may continue for life if disability is due to an accident, or to age 70 if due to an illness

2. Residual

• Able to do your regular job in a limited capacity with at least 20% loss of earnings;
• Or unable to return to your regular job but working in another job with at least 20% loss of earnings; and
• Must start before age 60.  

Pays a percentage of the benefit to age 70 if disability is due to an accident or illness.

3. Partial

• Unable to do one or more of the important duties of your regular job.
• Or unable to do them for more than half the time usually required.
• Or unable to work more than 20 hours a week at another gainful occupation.

Pays 50% of regular benefit for up to six months following a total disability that starts on or after age 60 but before age 70.

4. Presumptive

Even if able to work, will be considered totally disabled if loses:

• the entire use of both hands, or
• the entire use of both feet, or
• the entire use of both one hand and one foot, or
• the entire sight of both eyes, or hearing in both ears, or
• complete and irrecoverable loss of speech

Pays total disability benefits for illness whether loss was due to an illness or accident.

5. Recurring

If, upon returning to work, becomes total disabled again due to the same illness or accident within six months.

Benefits will resume without having to satisfy another elimination period

6. Catastrophic loss

• Satisfies minimum criteria in one of four categories – Self Care, Transfer and Mobility, Cognitive Ability, or Terminal Illness;
• Under the regular care of a physician; and
• Not gainfully employed.

Pays 125% of monthly disability benefit if totally disabled because of a catastrophic loss.

Disability Income Replacement Insurance does not cover:

• self inflicted Injury
• pregnancy, childbirth or miscarriage, except complications thereof;
• war or any act of war, or
• active full-time service in the armed forces of any country or international organization.
• Committing or attempting to commit an assault or criminal offence.

Determining your eligibility

Participation is reserved for members of provincial or territorial associations of engineering professionals.

Eligibility for application is granted to a Canadian resident under age 65, who is:

1. A member of the engineering regulators that license the country’s 300,000 members of the profession (including members in training); also, an engineering student who is registered in an engineering program accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board;
2. A member of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers or Genium360;
3. A member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario, Geoscientists Nova Scotia or the Ordre des géologues du Québec;
4. A member of one of the participating provincial associations of professional technicians and technologists;
5. A member of the Manitoba Association of Architects, the Architects’ Association of New Brunswick, the Nova Scotia Association of Architects or the Architects Association of Prince Edward Island;
6. A full-time employee of Engineers Canada or one of the engineering regulators that license the country’s 300,000 members of the profession or one of the participating organizations or of Youth Science Canada; or
7. A limited licensee or a provincial licensee.