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Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first adult heart transplant in South Africa in 1967.

His lesser-known brother Dr. Marius Barnard, also a heart surgeon, developed Critical Illness Insurance there 30 years ago to help people who suffered severe financial hardship from illness.

Advances in modern medicine suddenly allowed people to survive, but they were unable to earn income and desperately needed money to maintain a standard of living and pay for necessary treatments.

Looking for a way to help future patients, Dr. B developed a unique insurance policy that paid out on diagnosis of an illness rather than on the death of the individual.

I had the pleasure of meeting him at a conference a few years ago.

You can watch him describe his work as a pioneering heart surgeon and how he developed the product here.

The original policy issued on August 6, 1983 covered only four conditions: heart attack, cancer, stroke and coronary bypass surgery. It was soon adopted around the world.

Those same conditions now account for about 90% of all payouts by Canadian insurers.

Most policies available in Canada cover more than 20 conditions. See a full list here.

Critical Illness Insurance today pays a lump sum of up to $2 million 30 days following a diagnosis and features a ‘Return of Premium’ option that returns all premiums paid if no claim is made.

Having Critical Illness Insurance can often be more important than having Life Insurance.

Canadians now enjoy the best Critical Illness Insurance policies available anywhere in the world, including the most liberal definitions, highest coverage limits, and the Return of Premium option.

Despite our enviable advantages the vast majority (75%) of Canadian insurance advisors have never sold a policy!

Go figure.

For people who can’t get regular coverage due to poor health, pre-existing conditions or family history I recommend this unique Guaranteed Issue product with no medical required.

It can cost less than $1 day, pays out a maximum of $75,000 tax-free, and features the Return of Premium option.

Stay healthy