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Living Benefits & Income Protection

Living Benefits strategies are designed to support financial stability in situations where health and accidental related circumstances may affect your ability to work or maintain regular income.

Living Benefits & Income Protection — Vital Shield Risk Advisory service for Canadian business owners and independent professionals

Living Benefits strategies are designed to support financial stability in situations where health & Accidental related circumstances that may affect your ability to work or maintain regular income.

These solutions help ensure that essential financial commitments remain supported, allowing you to maintain continuity and focus on recovery without compromising your broader financial position.

For self-employed tradespeople, contractors and commission-based professionals, this is often the single largest unprotected asset: the ability to earn. We quantify that exposure, then structure critical illness, disability and accident protection so a health event does not become a financial event.

Living Benefits & Income Protection by city

Local advisory pages covering living benefits & income protection across Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. Choose your city for community-specific guidance, or view the full provincial directory.

Alberta — 38 communities

Alberta's economy runs on trades, energy, transport and owner-operated businesses — occupations where income stops the moment health does. Vital Shield is headquartered in downtown Calgary and advises households and business owners across the province.

All Alberta locations

Ontario — 45 communities

From the GTA to Northern Ontario, self-employed contractors, tradespeople and small business owners carry income risk that group plans rarely cover. Vital Shield advises Ontario clients virtually with secure digital applications.

All Ontario locations

British Columbia — 40 communities

High cost of living and a large self-employed workforce make income protection critical across British Columbia. Vital Shield provides Living Benefits and risk advisory to BC clients from the Lower Mainland to the Interior and the North.

All British Columbia locations

Living Benefits & Income Protection: direct answers

Straight answers to the questions small business owners, tradesmen, contractors and high-risk workers ask most about this service.

What happens to my income if I get sick and I am self-employed in Canada?

If you are self-employed in Canada and cannot work due to illness or injury, there is no employer sick pay and EI sickness benefits are capped and time-limited, so a personally owned disability or critical illness plan is what replaces your income.

  • EI sickness benefits cover a limited number of weeks and a capped weekly amount, and many self-employed people are not enrolled at all.
  • Disability coverage is sized against your real monthly commitments — mortgage, loan payments, payroll and family costs.
  • Critical illness pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a covered condition, which can be used for anything, including keeping the business running.

Small business ownersIndependent tradesmenIndependent contractors

Can a tradesman get disability insurance if the work is physical?

Yes. Tradespeople can get disability insurance in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia, but pricing and definitions depend on your occupation class, so applications should be directed to insurers that rate manual trades fairly.

  • Look for an own-occupation or regular-occupation definition so a claim is judged against your trade, not any job at all.
  • Occupation class drives price and maximum benefit far more than age does for manual work.
  • Accident-only plans can bridge coverage where a full medical underwrite is difficult.

Independent tradesmenHigh-risk occupations

Do independent contractors need different insurance than employees?

Independent contractors usually need more personal coverage than employees, because there is no group plan, no paid sick leave, and income arrives in irregular contract cycles that a claim can interrupt without warning.

  • Benefits are structured around average annual earnings rather than a single month's invoice.
  • Waiting periods are chosen to match how long your reserves realistically last between contracts.
  • Health and dental can be added personally to replace what a group plan would have provided.

Independent contractorsSmall business owners

What insurance should a real estate agent or commission-based professional have?

Commission-based professionals such as real estate agents should hold personally owned disability and critical illness coverage underwritten on average commission income, because a few months out of the market can wipe out an entire year of earnings.

  • Insurers generally average two to three years of declared income for variable earners.
  • A lump-sum critical illness benefit covers the gap while a pipeline is rebuilt.
  • Coverage is written personally so it moves with you between brokerages.

Small business ownersIndependent contractors

Can I get covered if I work in oil and gas, construction or transport?

Yes. High-risk occupations in energy, construction, transport and industrial work are insurable in Canada, but each insurer rates hazardous duties differently, so the application should be placed with the carrier whose occupation class fits your role.

  • Duties, site conditions and travel are declared up front to avoid claim-time disputes.
  • Some carriers exclude specific duties rather than declining the whole application.
  • Comparing several carriers usually changes both the price and the terms materially.

High-risk occupationsIndependent tradesmen

How much coverage does a self-employed person actually need?

A self-employed person typically needs disability coverage replacing 60 to 70 percent of net income, plus a critical illness lump sum covering roughly one to two years of fixed commitments, with the exact figures set by a documented needs analysis.

  • We quantify fixed monthly outgoings, business debt and dependants before recommending a figure.
  • Existing group, association or mortgage coverage is counted first so you do not over-insure.
  • Amounts are reviewed periodically as income and obligations change.

Small business ownersIndependent tradesmenIndependent contractorsHigh-risk occupations

Next Step

Schedule Your Free Consultation Today

A structured, no-obligation review of your income, obligations and existing coverage — with clear, plain-language guidance on what actually needs protecting.

Book Your Free Consultation(587) 320-6956