From the Movember Canada website:

Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month.  The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for prostate cancer.  Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days.

Prostate cancer is frightening common in Canadian men, but fortunately it is also very treatable. If caught early. The Movember campaign focuses on two goals: raising money for research, and raising awareness of prostate cancer and the need for men to be screened regularly for it.

Part of planning for your future is preparing for situations which are uncomfortable to consider right now. Death, sickness, injury, family responsibilities, financial trouble… ignoring the possibilities and just hoping they won’t happen is never the right choice. We save money so we can retire with some degree of comfort and dignity. We visit our doctors to make sure everything is OK and hopefully catch anything that isn’t before it gets too bad to do something about. We have health care coverage and life and critical illness and disability insurance so we won’t have to sacrifice our financial future (or our family’s) if something does go wrong.

So make sure you smile at every ugly, half-formed mustache you see in November, and make sure you think about yourself or an important man in your life. Get checked out, and think about your plans if something does happen. It may not be comfortable to think about right now, but I promise you, you’ll be glad you did. Call us if you want to talk.

Prostate Cancer Facts

Prostate Cancer is:

• The most common cancer among Canadian men – it will afflict 1 in 6 men and is a greater threat for those with a family history of the disease
• Turning up in men in their 40s
• Going to be diagnosed in about 24,600 men this year, not including cases that go undiagnosed due to men’s unwillingness to go for annual check-ups
• Develops as a result of dietary, environmental and heredity factors (more research is needed to identify its causes and prevent the disease)
• New, preliminary research suggests pharmaceuticals may help prevent prostate cancer in men at high risk of the disease
• Often without symptoms in its earliest, most curable stage – making annual testing ever more important
• Treated by surgery, radiation and hormone therapy (among other treatments)
• Thought to be a potentially preventable cancer in many cases, but more research is needed

We have been receiving more and more inquiries regarding insurance covering the occurrence of a life threatening illness.  There is just such coverage called Critical Illness Insurance. This type of insurance is designed to pay a tax free lump sum of cash on the diagnosis of a life threatening illness such as heart attack, stroke or cancer.

Most people want to know the true financial effect of such an event and the linked article below gives a good viewpoint referring to studies done by the Canadaian Breast Cancer Institute. We usually propose coverage to replace a full years income, so if you are making $50,000.00 per year, female, non smoker, age 40, your premiums would only be about $30.00 per month (assuming “standard” health underwriting results).  Please review the article and contact us for more information.

Harvey

Economic impact ‘huge’ for breast cancer patients, report says – The Globe and Mail

“The economic impact of breast cancer is huge and, in many cases, devastating for patients and their families,” says the report, released Thursday.

The study, which CBCN says is the first to examine the financial and labour impacts of breast cancer, is based on a survey conducted last year of 446 Canadians with the disease.

Notice courtesy of Manulife Financial Group Benefits:

Effective May 1, 2010 all visitors travelling to Cuba will require proof of out-of-country travel health insurance upon landing. If visitors do not hold insurance from an approved carrier/assistance provider at the point of entry into Cuba, they will be required to purchase insurance for the duration of their stay.

Mondial Assistance, Manulife’s out-of-country provider, has a contractual agreement with the Cuban assistance company ASISTUR, and as such is a recognized third party assistance provider. A list of approved health insurance providers had been published by a Cuban news resource, however there has been no confirmation by any Cuban authority of an official list to date.

While the Cuban government has yet to confirm a specific list of recognized carriers, or the specific documentation requirements for proof of insurance, plan members are encouraged to carry with them a copy of their ETA and/or combined ETA/drug (One) card, along with a letter from Mondial Assistance confirming its eligibility. This letter will be posted to the plan member, plan administrator and plan advisor public sites. It will also be available through the customer service centre. You can recognize an ETA card by looking for Mondial Assistance or World Access (the former name of Mondial Assistance) on the card.

These recommendations are based on the information provided by the Cuban authorities to date, however we cannot guarantee that entry will be permitted without the purchase of insurance through a Cuban source. We are hopeful that these two items (ETA card with letter from Mondial) will be sufficient to allow your plan members into Cuba without having to purchase any additional insurance.

For clients who have purchased Manulife’s ETA/Assistance product managed by Mondial Assistance: Given the information provided by the Cuban authorities to date, presentation of their travel assistance or drug card along with a letter confirming Mondial Assistance as a recognized entity should be sufficient for entry without the requirement to purchase additional insurance.

For clients who have not purchased our ETA / Assistance product and are reimbursement based: For reimbursement clients the Cuban authorities may require the purchase of insurance, as reimbursement coverage may not be accepted as a guarantee of payment.

Travellers are required to meet the terms, conditions and eligibility requirements of their travel insurance policy in order for their coverage to be in effect. The requirement to purchase additional coverage does not void or cancel the existing coverage from Manulife.

Though this notice discusses Manulife services, the same concerns will be present with other Canadian provider’s coverage.

When traveling to Cuba, you must carry:

• 1 – Your Provincial Health Card
• 2 – Proof of Insurance – Benefits Card
• 3 – Proof of a contractual relationship with a recognized provider (ETA proof of coverage) – download this confirmation letter from Mondial Assistance

For more information about this new requirement from the Cuban government, visit: Information for travelers to Cuba

If you are planning on traveling to Cuba in the near future and have any questions about your Travel Health Insurance coverage, please contact our office.