SERVICES
Disability Insurance
Disability insurance replaces part of your pay if illness or injury stops you working. Most people insure the car and the house and leave the income that pays for both uncovered. You can work out the monthly benefit you would need in about a minute.
How much of your income can you insure?
Work out the benefit first — insurers cap it at a share of your gross pay. Then we will price it, which needs an advisor because disability cover is underwritten on your occupation as well as your health.
WHY IT MATTERS
Your income is the thing everything else depends on
It acts as salary replacement. If you cannot perform the duties of your job, the policy pays you a monthly benefit — typically 60% to 80% of your gross income — for as long as you are unable to work, up to the benefit period you chose. It is not a lump sum for a diagnosis; it is a wage that keeps arriving while you recover.
Is my disability insurance through work enough?
Often not. Group plans commonly cap the benefit and replace only a portion of your salary, and the cover ends when you leave the job. A private policy stays with you and closes the gap that a group plan leaves.
How long before benefits start?
That is the elimination period, and you choose it — usually somewhere between 30 and 90 days. A longer waiting period lowers your premium, so match it to how long your savings would realistically last.
How much of my income can I insure?
Typically 60% to 80% of gross income. Insurers cap it deliberately: benefits are usually paid tax free, so replacing all of your income would leave you better off not returning to work.
Do I get anything back if I never claim?
On some policies, yes. A return of premium rider pays back a significant portion of the premiums you paid if you reach the end of the term without claiming. It costs more up front, so it is worth pricing both ways.
What does “unable to work” actually mean?
It depends on the policy definition, and this is the detail that matters most. An own-occupation definition pays if you cannot do your own job; a broader definition may require that you cannot do any job you are suited to. We will tell you which one you are buying.
WHAT’S COVERED
What This Cover Includes
What the money is for
The mortgage or rent, utilities, groceries, loan repayments — the bills that keep arriving whether or not you are earning. The goal is long-term stability through a prolonged absence from work, not a windfall.
Who it is for
Employees whose group cover is thin or capped, self-employed people with no group cover at all, and business owners whose income stops if they do. The less your income survives your absence, the more this matters.
Your waiting period is a price lever
The elimination period is the gap between becoming disabled and the first payment — usually 30 to 90 days. A longer wait means a lower premium, so it should be set to match how long your savings could genuinely carry you, not to whatever is cheapest.
If you already have cover through work
Group plans usually cap the benefit and only replace part of your salary, and the cover ends when the job does. A personal policy stays with you between employers and is sized to your actual expenses rather than a payroll formula. The two work together — the question is what the gap between them is.
WHY THINK INSURANCE
What You Get With Us
What you get with us
We are brokers, not one carrier, so the policy is chosen around your occupation rather than sold from a single shelf.
- Cover sized to your real monthly commitments, not a multiple of salary
- Risk assessed against the specific duties of your occupation
- A choice of monthly benefit or, where it fits, a lump-sum structure
- Elimination period and benefit duration set to your budget
- Return of premium available on some policies if you never claim
- Plain answers on what the policy will not pay for, before you sign
Guides on this coverage
- Disability Insurance OffersOctober 2026
- How To Choose The Right Disability Insurance in Surrey Coverage Costs And Common MistakesJanuary 2026
- Disability Insurance in Surrey Why It’s Essential For Working Professionals & Business OwnersJanuary 2026
- Securing Your Future: The Essential Guide to Disability InsuranceJanuary 2025
Local pages
Available throughout British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. These pages answer the questions we are asked most often in each city.
WHY THINK INSURANCE
What Working With Us Actually Looks Like
Independent advice, plain language, and a phone number that reaches a person. Here is what that means in practice.
Cover sized to your situation
Single, a couple, a young family, or a parent arriving on a Super Visa. We work out who actually depends on you, then size the policy to that — not to a package.
Quotes from several insurers
We are brokers, not one carrier. Give us your details once and see what the major Canadian insurers will genuinely charge you, side by side.
Straight answers before you sign
We explain what a policy will not pay for as clearly as what it will. If a plan is a poor fit for you, we say so rather than sell it.
Covered without the wait
Most visitor and travel plans are quoted online in minutes, and the policy document reaches your inbox the same day.
A person on the other end
Call 604-828-7213 and reach someone who can answer. Assistance runs 24/7, with access to multilingual support wherever you are in Canada.
We stay with you through the claim
The claim is the reason you bought cover. We prepare the paperwork with you and follow it up with the insurer ourselves.
Licensed and accountable
Think Insurance Services Inc. is a licensed agency in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, advising families since 2011.
Not sure which cover fits? Ask us.
Tell us who you are protecting and we will come back with real options, usually the same day.