Group Life, Disability & Critical Illness · Kelowna, BC
Life, Disability & Critical Illness Coverage for Your Team
Benefits. Handled. Group life, short- and long-term disability, and critical illness coverage, protecting your team's income and their families if the unexpected happens, whether it's added alongside your existing health & dental plan or built from scratch.
Why It Matters
The Gap Between Provincial Coverage and Real Financial Risk
MSP and EI cover a lot, but not everything. EI sickness benefits are capped, short-term, and don't apply once they run out, and there's no provincial program that replaces income long-term if an employee can't work, or helps a family cover costs after a serious diagnosis.
Group life, disability, and critical illness coverage fills that gap, often at a lower cost per employee than most business owners expect, especially when it's added alongside an existing health & dental plan.
What's Included
Coverage Built Around What Could Actually Happen
Group Life & AD&D
The foundation of income protection for a family if the worst happens.
- Basic life insurance, often a flat amount or a multiple of salary
- Optional dependent life for a spouse and children
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage
- Coverage generally reduces or ends at a set retirement age
Short & Long-Term Disability
Replaces a portion of income when an employee can't work due to illness or injury.
- Short-term disability typically bridges the gap right after an illness or injury begins, commonly for up to several months
- Long-term disability commonly replaces around two-thirds of pre-disability income, usually starting after a waiting period of roughly 3–4 months
- Definition of disability is often "own occupation" for an initial period, then "any occupation" after that, exact terms vary by carrier and plan design
- Often the most valued benefit once employees understand what it actually does
Critical Illness Insurance
A lump-sum payment on diagnosis of a covered condition, used however the employee needs.
- Common covered conditions include cancer, heart attack, and stroke, depending on the plan
- Typically paid after a short survival period following diagnosis (commonly around 30 days), confirmed by a physician
- Paid directly to the employee, not tied to specific medical expenses
- Can cover costs employees wouldn't otherwise plan for, travel for treatment, a spouse's lost income, mortgage payments
- Complements disability coverage rather than replacing it
Flex & Optional Coverage
Not every employee needs the same coverage, build in room to choose.
- Optional/voluntary life for employees who want more than the group baseline
- Multiple employee classes where it makes sense (e.g. management vs. staff)
- Reviewed and adjusted as your team changes
- Can be layered onto an existing health & dental plan or built as a standalone
Built Around Your Team
How This Typically Works at Your Size
Life, disability, and critical illness underwriting works a little differently depending on how many people you're covering. Select your team size for a quick, general idea of what usually applies.
Small Teams (2–9 Employees)
- Guaranteed issue amounts are usually lower. With less group history to spread risk across, smaller groups often see a lower coverage amount guaranteed without a health questionnaire (evidence of insurability), simply because there's less data for the carrier to pool.
- Straightforward plan design. Often a flat life insurance benefit for everyone rather than multiple employee classes, simple to set up and administer.
- Still real protection. Even a modest guaranteed amount, plus optional top-up coverage employees can add themselves, meaningfully protects a small team.
Growing Teams (10–24 Employees)
- More headcount can mean a higher guaranteed issue amount. With more employees to pool, carriers can often extend a higher guaranteed coverage amount before evidence of insurability is required.
- Room for employee classes. Enough size to reasonably split coverage between, say, management and general staff, if that fits your goals.
- Optional/voluntary coverage becomes more viable. Employees who want more than the group baseline can often add it at group rates.
Established Teams (25+ Employees)
- Higher guaranteed issue amounts and more flexible underwriting are common. Larger groups typically see less restrictive evidence-of-insurability requirements.
- Executive/key-person coverage becomes realistic. Extra coverage tiers for owners or key employees are more commonly available at this size.
- More administration support available. At larger group sizes, some carriers offer longer rate guarantees and more hands-on disability claims administration.
This is general guidance, not a quote. Every group is underwritten individually, and guaranteed issue amounts vary by carrier. Want to know exactly where your plan stands? Compare your current plan →
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What Clients Say
Real Businesses, Real Protection
“Ralph with Sterling Benefits is great to work with. We have our company benefits through Sterling and there are great options and customizable plans that fit your budget and plan options that you need.”
“Highly recommend Ralph… he knows what he’s talking about, his packages are affordable, and he’s so passionate about helping companies be protected and provide their employees with customized plans so their needs are met.”
“Ralph helped me secure benefits for my employees and myself. He was knowledgeable and understanding of my needs. 100% would recommend Ralph for your benefit needs.”
Common Questions
Life, Disability & Critical Illness FAQ
Isn't disability already covered through EI or WorkSafeBC?+
Only a narrow slice of it. EI sickness benefits are short-term and capped at a modest weekly amount, and WorkSafeBC only applies if the illness or injury happened on the job. Group disability coverage is built to cover the situations those programs don't reach, including illnesses and injuries that have nothing to do with work.
What's the difference between short-term and long-term disability?+
Short-term disability generally bridges the first weeks to months after an illness or injury begins. Long-term disability typically starts once short-term benefits end and can continue for years, replacing a meaningful portion of pre-disability income. Exact percentages, waiting periods, and definitions of disability vary by plan and carrier, so we'll walk through the specifics for any plan you're considering.
Should the company or the employee pay the disability premiums?+
This is one decision worth getting right before the plan starts, not after a claim. If the employer pays any part of the disability premium, the disability benefit an employee receives during a claim becomes taxable income. If employees pay the premium themselves, the benefit is received tax-free. For this reason, disability premiums are commonly structured as employee-paid, specifically to preserve that tax-free status. Life, AD&D, and critical illness work a little differently, the death benefit or lump sum is always paid tax-free regardless of who pays the premium, but employer-paid premiums for those benefits are a taxable benefit to the employee. We'll walk through this with you before your plan is finalized.
What does critical illness insurance actually pay for?+
A lump sum, paid directly to the employee on diagnosis of a covered condition (commonly things like cancer, heart attack, or stroke, depending on the plan), not tied to specific medical bills. It's often used for costs that disability and health coverage don't touch, like travel for treatment or a temporary loss of household income while a family adjusts.
Does adding this cost a lot on top of our health & dental plan?+
Often less than owners expect, especially layered onto an existing plan. The honest answer for your specific team depends on group size, ages, and coverage level. Send over what you have today, or tell us you're starting from scratch, for a free, no-obligation comparison.
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