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If you call your cable or wireless provider to cancel your service or switch to another company you will automatically be transferred to a member of the customer retention department. Their job is changing your mind.

If you call me to cancel an insurance policy you will automatically be told to get a complete medical first.

A 55 year old client called me last year to cancel his $500,000 Critical Illness Insurance policy. He was healthy, but his income was down and he wanted to save money. I told him it was a bad idea.  He insisted he was in great shape and declined my suggestion to reduce the coverage to $250,000 so I had him sign my Waiver of Responsibility (to avoid the possibility of future confusion on who initiated this) and had the policy cancelled.

He called me several months later seeking advice. As a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) he took advantage of a discounted Executive Medical from MedCan where he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour on his kidney.  The surgeon said the tumour was likely there for a long time, including the time his cancelled Critical Illness Insurance was in force. He wanted to know if he could still make a claim.

After I explained that cancelled policies don’t pay claims, he told me to recommend to anybody considering a cancellation that they get a full physical first before cancelling any coverage.  Good advice. Bad timing.

A 32 year old chiropractor called me a year ago to review his insurance and estate planning. I told him to increase his Long Term Disability (LTD or DI) and Critical Illness Insurance (CI) coverage as both were inadequate. At the time his wife was pregnant with their second child and he had increased his debt load.

He thanked me for my suggestions and asked me to follow up in a few months. We spoke a few more times and he finally told me he was going to stay with his current advisor who also did his home and car insurance.

I found out recently he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and called to offer my help with the CI and DI claims. He sheepishly admitted that despite my advice he decided to save money and felt he wasn’t going to get sick so he cancelled his Critical Illness Insurance. I was sick.

We have bumped into each other many times since, and seeing him without hair makes me want to scream.  How frustrating it is to see a young family now dealing with cancer and in financial straits when their mortgage would have been paid off and he could be focussed on getting better instead of worrying about money.

Stay healthy!