Extended Health & Dental Insurance may seem pricey if purchased as an individual product, with family coverage hovering (on average) in the $300 per month price range.

One school of thought expressed by many people, especially small business owners that I speak with is, “I will end up paying for coverages I don’t need; I am in good health and take no prescriptions and only go to the dentist twice per year.”

I respect and appreciate the validity of that argument, but here are a few things to consider with respect to deciding whether or not you need extended health insurance:

  • Pre-existing conditions are typically excluded; so if you are in good health today and have an individual plan in place and your health subsequently deteriorates requiring you to incur recurring costs for medication, your plan would cover the cost of drugs and treatments (which can run into thousands of dollars per year) not covered by OHIP. If you have no coverage in place and your health deteriorates and you then decide to purchase coverage, your pre-existing medical condition will not be covered, and you could be out of pocket for a lot of money.
  • If you are a business owner, the premiums you pay for extended health and dental insurance are tax deductible expenses to your business. The word “tax” is a bad word for most people, more so for business owners. But if you can reduce your taxable income and protect yourself from potential major medical expenses down the road, why wouldn’t you? One of my clients put it this way, “ I would rather put out my hard earned money for any purpose that doesn’t result in me handing it over to the government.” (I am not advocating that we shouldn’t pay our taxes, I am saying if you can legally reduce the amount you pay in taxes to protect yourself today and down the road why wouldn’t you.)

Your health is your wealth; protect yourself, your business and your family today because none of us can predict the future and nobody ever plans for their health to fail.

About the Author

Karl Marshall is President of Marmac Financial Services Limited, an independent insurance and investment brokerage. He lives in the Durham Region and on Saturday nights he hosts The Party Mix on G98.7 FM in Toronto. You may contact him via email karl@karlmarshall.ca @marmacinsurance on Twitter or on Facebook.