The importance of reviewing your disability policy
Mike graduated from dental school during the mid-80s and quickly opened a dental office north of Toronto. Mike was a great dentist and the income from his dental practice provided his family with a comfortable lifestyle including winter and summer vacations abroad plus private school for his three children. All was well with Mike, his practice and his family.
One day Mike woke up with a headache which wouldn’t go away no matter how many Advil he took. Although the headache was uncomfortable and his balance was off, he continued working. After a couple of painful weeks, he visited his family doctor who recommended several tests. Eventually, he was told that he had fluid in his brain and it needed to be drained.
The procedure was very invasive, but the doctors were confident that Mike would make a full recovery. Fortunately the surgery went well and after a short hospital stay, he was sent home to recover. The recovery did not go as planned and for the next six months, Mike made several visits to the hospital. During his recovery period, he was not working and his office manager juggled several part time dentists who were hired to perform Mike’s duties while he was at home recovering.
After approximately 12 months of recovery, Mike returned to the practice and worked part time. Unfortunately after a few weeks, Mike suffered a mild stroke and left the practice again. After two painful years, Mike has recovered from brain surgery and a minor stroke but the consequences have been life-changing. Because of his absence, many patients found other dentists and much of his professional staff left because of the instability.
During his recovery, Mike always believed he could eventually rebuild his income when he returned to full health. However, when he returned to work, he had one BIG side effect that wouldn’t go away: his hands involuntarily trembled.
In short: because of Mike’s unstable hands, his dental career was over.
I’m not privy to Mike’s financial profile, but I do know that Mike has a sizeable mortgage on a chalet in Colorado and two of his children are still in private high school, with the oldest attending a US University.
I present this true story for two reasons:
- A disability can happen to anyone and it can be life-altering.
- All non-retired clients should review their disability policy and ensure that it covers their financial needs in the event of disability.
A disability may not be catastrophic but can be career-ending. Disability policies are often very difficult to understand, hence why we encourage clients to set up an appointment to discuss.
If you would like to review your disability policy with us, call me or email me at richard.dri@scotiawealth.com.