What are the actual odds of you becoming disabled?

I have a comment,

What are the odds of becomming disabled? Every day of our lives its a life is a 50/50 chance we take when our eyes open in the morning!

I was in a head on in 2003 & I was a passanger!

& its scarey!

What is even more scarey is what happens after you are disabled, trust me I know as it has recently happened to me!

Because of lack of physical intimate capabuilities - You may loose your husband & a 20 year marrage to 23 year old little girl!, - loose your assets, - loose your money, - health, - sanity, - friends,- reputation, - sence of self worth, - everything you spent your life time working for & building,

The worst part is afterwards we are expandable by society, family friends, & then death can not come quick enough!

& If you do not die like in my case - then daily you wish you did afterwards, because insurance would take care of your child & not your pension.

I am 37, - I now raise my 16 year old son alone on $6,198 a year "Canada Pension Plan Disabuility" "Thats for the both of us!" Rent - $400,00 hydro $115,00 mth, - no child support - my ex refuses to pay, he say no way to $$$ leaving his pocket! I dont have the $$$ - to have child support inforced by having a lawyer bring seporation agreement & enforcement order before a judge.

My Ex brags about his $50,000 in RRSP's while his son goes around in ripped up clothes because thats the best I could get out of the church!

My Ex has a new car & has to make $379,00 a month in payments but yet has no $$$ to send his son!
He even has a new wife with 3 kids who are not his but no $$$

Try budgeting your check to $40,00 a week for grocery money & make sure it includes household necessitys & thats for just you and your son!"2 people"

And as far as entertainment is concerned - if you need it - you go window shopping in the grocery store & day dream about buying meat, cheesies, pickels or ice cream, or even pasteries!

2 months ago a woman here had her photograph taken and posted outside the IGA, it was because when she was going down the isles she was stealing - "By Eating the food!" "Hunger" "Poverty"

Logic Dictates - People who steal food & eat it, Normally its because they are poor, in poverty.

Where we are at "We dont have food banks"

"Thats what happens when you are disabled you are Rudely - Introduced to Poverty"

Life, - it goes on for everyone else - but not for you, - you are stagment!

Sue go get - "Legal Aid" - "thats a joke!" "I dont Quolify!" "I was refused!"

This is what happens when you become handicap, "The world turns its back on you & every door closes in your face" & they systems which are in place for everyone - they dont apply to all!

But it has been worse! 2 years ago we were homeless & now we live in a trailer house - in Quebec, & are a burden to what little friends we have left because oviesly $40,00 a week doesnt go far!

I understand the statistics issue very well - I have been involved in Disability Insurance for 40 years and I wll just make one statement: EVERYONE READING THIS (AND EVERYONE NOT READING THIS) WILL BE DISABLED BEFORE YOU DIE. Everytime I hear that old adage about there being two sure things in life - death and taxes - I want to SCREAM. Disability is FAR MORE CERTAIN THAN TAXES! Do I believe it will happen? No - but Congress - or Parliament - or whatever COULD repeal taxes by majority vote. It is THAT simple. TO REPEAL DISABILITY WOULD LITERALLY REQUIRE AN ACT OF GOD - "repealing" all the illnesses (and by the way the statistics I read tell me sicknesses account for 70% OF CLAIMS - SLIGHTLY LESS - 65% -in young males. There are only two things we do not know - the duration of the disability (short as in instant death from drowning or electrocution) or prolonged - like MS or cancer or Alzheimers Disease - and the timing. If you can guarantee it will be short - or the timing will be good - maybe you not need DI - but if you can make those guarantees I think I should be considering worshipping YOU

I hated paying the LTD deduction off my paycheck every month for Long Term Disability! What me disabled, healthy, young mid-30's with a family, career going well. In 2002 everything changed for my family and I, a drunk driver plowed into the car I was in and sent me to the hospital with life long physical injuries. I lost my career and many hobbies I used to do, rehabilitation and daily doses of pain medications help but the pain etc... is always there. Thankfully my family stood by with support but at a cost to them as well. The Long Term Disability system is not a guarantee or easy thing to qualify for but without it we would have lost everything.

Whats even worse is this attitude that 'disability can't happen to me' so accessibility becomes the last priority. Well yes, it can happen. I was an athlete-I now use a wheelchair. When are folks going to understand that most of us will deal with disability someday...cancer, heart disease, aging, accidents, vision,hearing....Lets make this rworld accessible....

I was one of the people who thought it cant happen to me, but it did and now I live in constant pain, and went from earning almost 100,000 to 25,000 and still have 3 kids and morgage and taxes and everything else that goes with living, all of the problems stem from being a passenger in an auto accident and the at fault person in the other car is ok still has a job to go to . I cant tell you enough to look at disability ins and check your auto policy for $46 a year it raises your insurable salary from $400 PER WEEK to $1000 if you can support and prove your income.CPP has now helped but a while for them to approve my disability.MAKE APPROPRIATE PLANS NOW DONT WAIT IT MAY END UP BEING TOO LATE!!!

I know firsthand about why you should have disability insurance. When I was 36 I was advised by my Financial Advisor that I should buy DI insurance. Being in good shape and young I thought he was off his rocker. 6 months later I slipped 4 disc in my lower back. Wokers Compensation Board paid me until I finisned the retraining course. Try going back AT 42 with 18 years olds to a Communinity College. I graduated from the course and three months later trying to find a career in a field that I could not care about.Salesman. I hate salesman but it was the only job that I could do. Wow!
I am one of the lucky ones althought still in pain and can not do anything sports related.
I am now a financial advisor with Freedom55Financial. I really check on what my clients have for disability insurance in thier Group insurance and IF THEY DO NOT ANY COVERAGE I make sure that nobody goes through what I did. I educate my clients what I have been through from my retirement plans going to shit TO DEPLETING MY Savings account, racking up my credit card and using my RRSP's
Be carefull of all DI insurance from your lenders,and educate yourself about your options. YOUR ABILITY TO EARN AN INCOME IS YOUR BIGGEST ASSET.

To the unfortunate woman who suffered a disability (Marie) as a result of a care accident. Never say never....it sounds as though you would qualify for a legal aid lawyer. Your situation is desperate however; you musn't give up so easily.

Approach your local women's centre...tell them your story see if someone will advocate on your behalf. You have a child that requires support (re: your ex) and you should be compensated by the driver's insurance company for your disability. Do everything you can to obtain legal representation...ie., legal aid! Stress the fact that you are raising a child on CPP!

Take care...don't give up!

LTD BENIFITS... what a joke NORTEL screws us over and the Federal Government does nothing ...Yes I said nothing, because if I get wht they say I will LOSE $147,000.00 between now (56) and whenI turn 65. Not to mention all the years later. BIG BUSINESS and the GOVERNMENT are sucking the life out of all pensioners and LTD at NOrTEL...what will happen.
BASTARDS.

Well, all I can say is thank God for LTD. In the military I am forced to take LTD. I was very active into fitness and sports. Married with 3 kids, I thought I had it all. Unfortunately in the early 90's I started feeling pain in my calf. Then it spead to my pelvis and lower back. Slowly over time , my whole lower body began to have pain. every type of pain. sharp, dull, throbbing. You name it. Any way it turned out to be Degenerative Disc Disease and my lower back was totally destroyed. I had been walking around with a broken back with everything affected. I had vertebrae that had multiple stress fractures that had to be sealed with epoxy. Then the vertebrae were fused together in the position that they sat in. Then a pin holding my spine in place,was put in, to stabilize the back. The damage was done, including the nerve damage. If I had not been forced to take the LTD, I might not have. Now that I am going to be medically released from the military, I have 2 years to get better (not likely) with training options through thoses to years. You just never know when life is gonna throw you a curve ball. LTD atleast helps some.

All I can say to everyone who posted - THANK YOU! Real stories speak LIBRARIES - not volumes - LIBRARIES. Prior to Easter weekend 1988 I was the greatest TECHNICIAN in Canada concerning DI PRODUCTS. Then my brother had his car accident and I became an evangelist. Imagine being in a head-on collision at a combined speed of 120 mph (200 kph if you prefer that system). Imagine a VERY CLOSE meeting with your steering wheel - to the point where you are basically split in half. He has now had 7 hip rebuilds and will walk with a cane for the rest of his life. Tears came to my eyes when I saw him drop the cane and dance with his daughter at her wedding. THAT he will never be able to do again - and all of that is like NOTHING. The blood transfusions which saved his life gave him Hepatitis C. When he left his house that morning he never expected this to happen. NO ONE DOES.

Again - thank you all

This is the email I sent to Mr. Lieber on Feb. 22, 2010:

As someone who has specialized in Disability Insurance for 40 years – has trained people to sell it – has seen his mother, father, both brothers and his son disabled – I will just ask one question. Name me ONE person who will NOT be disabled before they die – just ONE! This is not “scare tactics!” These are simple facts. We do not know the timing or the duration – but ALL OF US WILL BE DISABLED. Anyone who can guarantee that their disability will be short – anyone who does NOT need their income (or can provide for their care needs if the disability is only later in life) does not need disability insurance. Anyone who can guarantee me they will never lose their job – and please talk to my brother if you sincerely believe THAT – anyone content to be covered only against a TOTAL loss – “Gee your $35,000 car only was damaged to the tune of $20,000 – we do not pay THAT!” – anyone who believes that employee benefits can be relied on – then maybe they can look at Group Plans. I SERIOUSLY think you should really rethink what you wrote – and I would be delighted to talk with you about it

Oh - and by the way - due to a sliced right median nerve in a work accident at age 17 - as someone who is HIMSELF disabled! It has limited effect on me - THANK GOD FOR WORD PROCESSORS because I cannot write for any length of time - but had I wanted to do anything (jewellry,surgery, dentistry) requiring normal sensation - too bad - NO CHANCE! And I GUARANTEE YOU that I did not expect to drop that box of empty bottles and fall through it the morning it happened

So what are the ACTUAL odds? One in one or 100% - the proper question should be "How much are you willing to risk that YOUR disability will have no or limited effect on your life?"