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Canadian Life and Health Insurance Facts

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41 group registered retirement savings plans often use group annuities to fund the plan. Group insurance. A type of insurance that provides coverage for a group of people (for example employees or members of an association) under one contract called a group plan or group policy. Group policyholder. An organization (for example an employer or association) that enters into a group insurance contract with an insurance company. (See "Group insurance".) Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (GRRSP). See "Registered Retirement Savings Plan". Guaranteed death benefit. The minimum amount an insurance company pays to the beneficiary when the insured person dies. Guaranteed insurability benefit. An option in a life insurance policy. It gives you the right to buy additional insurance coverage at set future ages without having to give proof of good health. It's also called "Guaranteed Insurability Option (GIO)". (See "Evidence of insurability".) Guaranteed maturity benefit. The amount that your insurance company guarantees to pay you on the policy maturity date. This benefit is most common with "Segregated fund" contracts. (See "Maturity date".) Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB). An option within a segregated fund contract that guarantees to pay you a stated income as long as you live, or for a specified period, even if the market value of the contract drops. If the market value grows, then the income paid to you can increase. Guaranteed renewable policies. A feature of an individual insurance policy where the insurance company guarantees to renew the insurance at the end of a certain period, regardless of any changes in your health. Premiums may increase at renewal times. H Health care spending account. An arrangement in a group plan where the plan member gets a number of credits in an account. The member can use the credits to pay for health and dental expenses not covered elsewhere in their plan. Health insurance. A type of insurance that covers medical expenses (such as drugs, dental expenses, vision expenses and paramedical expenses) or loss of income if you're sick or injured. Types of health insurance include accident and sickness insurance, disability income insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, critical illness insurance, extended health care insurance and long-term care insurance. Hospital expense insurance. A feature of extended health care insurance that covers hospital expenses not covered by your provincial health plan during your stay in hospital. It can include the cost of private or semi- private hospital rooms and other prescribed hospital services. Hospital indemnity. A health insurance benefit that pays a flat amount for each day a covered person is in hospital. The number of days covered is set and the daily amount paid doesn't vary, regardless of the medical expenses the covered person incurs. Also called "hospital cash plans". I Illustration. A document you may get from your advisor when you are thinking about buying insurance. It explains how the policy would work. It shows the costs and values of the policy under different conditions. It should also clearly show what's guaranteed and what's not. A policy illustration is for your information only and isn't part of a legal contract. Immediate annuity. An annuity product you buy with a single lump-sum payment and that starts paying a guaranteed amount almost immediately. Impaired annuity. Someone who has a serious medical condition may qualify for an impaired life annuity. This means they may receive a higher payment amount because their life expectancy is shorter than that of a healthy person. Impaired risk. In life and health insurance, a person who has physical or health problems, or who has a risky occupation or hobby, is known as an impaired risk. A person who presents an impaired risk may not qualify for coverage. If they do qualify, they may pay higher premiums for their coverage. For example, someone with a history of strokes would be an impaired risk. Individual insurance. Insurance you buy as an individual from an advisor or insurance company. This differs from group insurance, which you may have through your employer. (See "Group insurance".) Individual variable insurance contract. An annuity contract, where your premiums are invested in segregated funds managed by the life insurance company. The value of the plan will vary over time based on the value of those investments. You are guaranteed to receive at least

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