Critical Illness insurance was invented by Dr. Marius Barnard. Marius assisted his brother Dr. Christiaan Barnard in performing the first successful heart transplant in 1967 in South Africa. Through his years of dealing with cardiac patients, Marius observed that those patients that were better able to deal with the financial stress of their illness recovered more often and at a much faster rate than those for whom money was an issue. He concluded that he, as a physician, could heal people, but only insurance companies could provide the necessary funds to create the environment that best-promoted healing. As a result, he worked with South African insurance companies to issue the first critical illness policy in 1983.

It is probably the most disturbing news an individual can receive during a routine checkup: you have a critical illness and you must receive treatment for it. Thankfully, Canadians have access to healthcare and can receive treatment without spending an arm and a leg out of pocket. But what if the doctor’s orders also require taking a significant leave from work, leading to income loss? Or what if the rare but recommended treatment requires expensive travel to a clinic across the continent or even out of the country?