When you purchase life insurance, you make an important and valuable choice to protect your family’s financial security. Life insurance can help:

• protect your family’s standard of living
• meet your outstanding mortgage, debts, expenses, taxes, etc.
• meet final expenses.

How much do you need?

If you don’t have dependents, you need sufficient coverage to settle debts and final expenses.

If you have dependents, you need considerably more coverage. A rule of thumb is coverage for at least five times your earnings, and even more if you have a young family and a substantial mortgage.

You need enough insurance to:

• pay off your mortgage, debts and final expenses, and
• generate investment earnings to replace your after-tax income without eating into the proceeds.

Insurance proceeds of $1,000,000 at 5% interest would replace a $50,000 income (before taxes). If the proceeds are required for daily living expenses, they will at some time run out and your family would then have to rely on other assets to provide support. Inflation will erode the value of the insurance over time.

The term insurance provided by this Doctors Manitoba program provides maximum coverage for minimum cost. Other forms of insurance provide cash values or savings components in addition to insurance, and of course cost substantially more.

Member Term Life Insurance

• Coverage is available in units of $7,500, to a maximum of 364 units ($2,730,000)
  • At age 65: units reduce to $3,750, to a maximum of 364 units ($1,365,000)
  • At age 70: units reduce to $2,100, to a maximum of 10 units ($21,000)
• Evidence of Good Health is required, unless purchased as a Resident through the PARIM program
• Coverage terminates at age 75
• To apply for new coverage, you must be under age 65 and a resident of Manitoba
• To increase your coverage, you must be under age 65 and a resident of Canada.

Dependent Life Insurance

You must participate in the Member Term Life Insurance plan to be eligible to purchase dependent insurance. You can choose from two coverage options:

Spousal Insurance

• Spouse’s age 64 and younger: purchase units of $7,500 to a maximum of 364 units ($2,730,000)
• Spouse’s age 65 to 69: units reduced to $3,750, to a maximum of 364 units ($1,365,000)
• Coverage terminates at spouse’s age 70

Spouse and Dependent Children

• $11,000 coverage for your spouse
• $5,500 coverage for each dependent child
• Coverage terminates at member’s age 70

Effective Date of Insurance (the date coverage takes effect) is the date the insurance company approves the application.

Changes in Coverage Amounts (increases in coverage) take effect once the insurance company approves the application. Decreases in coverage due to age take effect on the policy anniversary date (January 1) following the change in age.

You may cancel your coverage at any time by providing written notice to Doctors Manitoba. Coverage ceases as of the end of the month in which the request is received, or at a future date as specified in that request. Coverage cannot be cancelled or decreased retroactively.

Limitation

No benefit is paid for death as a result of suicide within 24 months of the effective date of your coverage.

Conversion Privilege

If you are no longer eligible for term life insurance under this policy and you are under age 65:

• your coverage will continue for 31 days, and
• during these 31 days, you may convert up to $200,000 of your coverage to an individual insurance policy without evidence of good health.

You may also convert your Spousal insurance. Dependents’ insurance may be converted for your spouse only, provided your spouse is not yet age 65.

Waiver of Premium

If you become totally and continuously disabled for a period of six months before age 65, you may apply for premiums to be waived. If approved, your coverage will continue at no cost to you until you recover, reach age 75 or die, whichever occurs first.

Cancellation

The insurer can’t cancel your coverage as long as the master policy is in force and your premiums are paid when due.

Termination of Insurance

All insurance terminates on the earliest of these dates:

• January 1 after or on your 75^th birthday, for member plans
• January 1 after or on the date you are no longer affiliated with Doctors Manitoba
• January 1 after or on the date you enter the armed forces on full-time active duty
• any required premium is due and unpaid
• the policy is discontinued.

Spousal and Dependents’ Insurance terminates on the earliest of these dates:

• January 1 after or on your spouse’s 70^th birthday, for the spousal plan
• January 1 after or on your 70^th birthday, for the dependent plan
• January 1 after or on the date your dependent ceases to meet the definition of eligible dependent
• your dependent enters the armed forces on full-time active duty
• your insurance under this policy terminates.

In the event of your death, Dependents’ Insurance is continued until the end of the policy year in which you died, at which point your spouse has the option to convert the policy to an individual policy.

Definitions

Age means the age as of January 1^st of each year (the policy anniversary date).

Dependent means your spouse and dependent children.

Spouse is:

• your legal partner through a religious or civil marriage ceremony, or
• the person who lives with you and is publicly represented as your spouse.

Dependent children are your:

• unmarried children under age 18 (or under age 25 if enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college or university) who are principally dependent on you for support and maintenance
• children of any age who are dependent on you for support and maintenance because of a physical or mental infirmity.

Smoker means a person who has smoked or used cigarettes, hashish, cigars, pipe, cigarillos, chewing tobacco, nicotine patch and/​or gum, betel nuts, or tobacco, or nicotine in any other form within the last 12 months. Marijuana use is excluded.

Doctors Manitoba offers low group rates. Plus, because the plans are not-for-profit, if there is a surplus in any year, the savings are returned to plan members as a credit on the next year’s premiums.

Member Life Insurance and Spouse’s Insurance

The price you’ll pay for member’s Term Life Insurance and Spouse’s Insurance depends on the amount applied for, and your age and smoking status (or your spouse’s age and smoking status for spousal insurance).

For cost information, please contact:

• Mark Venton, Insurance Coordinator, at (204) 985‑5846, or
• Gord Brennan, Marketing Representative, at (204) 985‑1140.

Age-banded premiums

Premiums are ​“age-banded” rather than level premiums. This means you pay in today’s dollars for today’s risk. With level premiums, the cost at older ages is transferred to the younger ages, typically when you can least afford the cost. Rather than having you overpay at the younger ages, the Doctors Manitoba program uses the more cost effective five-year age banding method, where you pay the premium for the risk at your actual age.

Sales tax

If you live in Manitoba, Ontario or Quebec, retail sales taxes on your premiums will be calculated based on the taxes applicable to your province.