Use this as your last‑mile review. Pair it with the Syllabus for coverage and Practice for speed.
Accident & Sickness in one picture (identify the exposure)
flowchart TD
A["Illness/injury scenario"] --> B["Exposure: income loss? expenses? long care?"]
B --> C["Existing coverage: public + group + savings"]
C --> D["Product fit: DI / CI / LTC / health+dental / travel / AD&D"]
D --> E["Contract mechanics: triggers + limits + exclusions"]
E --> F["Explain + document + service"]
Exam reflex: state (1) the exposure, (2) what’s missing, (3) what feature solves it.
Coverage map (what each product is “for”)
| Product bucket | Primary problem it solves | Benefit type | Common exam trap |
|---|
| Disability income (DI) | Income loss while alive | Indemnity (income benefit) | ignoring elimination/benefit period or disability definition |
| Critical illness (CI) | Lump sum on specified diagnosis | Indemnity (lump sum) | assuming “any illness” is covered |
| Long-term care (LTC) | Ongoing care/support needs | Indemnity or reimbursement (policy-specific) | missing ADL/cognitive trigger logic |
| Extended health/dental | Ongoing health expenses | Reimbursement | forgetting limits, deductibles, coinsurance |
| Travel medical | Emergency costs out-of-province/country | Reimbursement + assistance | confusing emergency vs elective care; pre-existing stability |
| AD&D | Accident-specific death/dismemberment | Indemnity | treating it as a substitute for DI/CI |
Competency 1 (35%) — Assess needs and situation
Fact-find checklist (high yield)
| Bucket | What you need to know | Why it matters |
|---|
| Income | type (salary/self-employed), stability | DI affordability and underwriting; replacement need |
| Employer benefits | STD/LTD, health/dental, waiting periods | prevents duplicate/inefficient coverage; integration |
| Sick leave | paid sick days / banked leave | affects elimination period choice |
| Expenses | medical + caregiving exposure | reimbursement vs indemnity need |
| Dependents | who relies on the income | increases severity of income-loss risk |
| Budget | what’s realistically affordable | product fit often starts with affordability |
| Health history | conditions, meds, pre-existing | underwriting and exclusions |
| Occupation/avocations | hazards, duties | DI risk class and pricing |
| Travel | frequency/destinations | travel medical exposure and exclusions |
| Existing policies | DI/CI/LTC already in force | avoid redundancy; coordinate and document |
Best-answer elimination rule: if the stem is missing critical facts (income, group coverage, waiting period, travel), the best answer often focuses on gathering information before recommending.
Competency 2 (30%) — Analyze products that meet the need
Disability income (DI): the 5 levers
- Definition of disability (own/regular/any; policy-specific)
- Elimination period (how long before benefits start)
- Benefit period (how long benefits can last)
- Benefit amount (and how it integrates with other income sources)
- Partial/residual disability features (return-to-work dynamics)
Quick matcher (concept):
- short elimination + longer benefit period = higher premium, more “protective”
- longer elimination = cheaper premium, assumes client has short-term resources
Coordination / integration (income replacement)
When multiple income sources exist, the question is often: how much net replacement does the client actually have? Common sources (concept):
- employer STD/LTD
- EI sickness (time-limited)
- CPP disability (long-term for severe and prolonged disability)
- workers’ compensation (work-related)
Critical illness (CI): what CI is (and isn’t)
- CI typically pays a lump sum if the insured is diagnosed with a covered condition and meets the policy’s requirements (e.g., survival period; policy-specific).
- It is not “income replacement by default” — it’s often recovery funding and flexibility.
Long-term care (LTC): trigger logic (high level)
LTC questions often test whether you recognize:
- ADL impairment and/or cognitive impairment triggers (policy-specific)
- long duration risk + inflation sensitivity for long claims (concept)
Extended health/dental: read limits carefully
- benefit schedules (drugs, dental, paramedical, vision)
- annual/lifetime maximums
- deductibles + coinsurance
- coordination of benefits (spouses) (concept)
Travel medical: emergency framing
Travel medical is generally about unexpected emergencies and assistance coordination. Common traps:
- pre-existing condition clauses/stability requirements (policy-specific)
- confusing elective care with emergency care
Competency 3 (25%) — Implement a recommendation
Implementation checklist (what exam answers reward)
- match coverage to the exposure (income vs expenses vs long care)
- choose elimination/benefit period consistent with client resources and horizon
- explain major limitations and exclusions clearly
- document why the recommendation is suitable given existing benefits
Competency 4 (10%) — Service and claims mindset
- review coverage after job/income changes, benefit changes, travel pattern changes, family changes
- keep disclosure accurate (material changes matter)
- for claims: expect documentation and timelines to matter (policy-specific)
Common exam traps
- Mixing up indemnity vs reimbursement benefits.
- Treating AD&D as a substitute for DI or CI.
- Ignoring elimination period / benefit period mechanics.
- Assuming “any sickness” is covered under CI or travel medical.
- Recommending without checking existing employer benefits and integration.
Glossary (high-yield)
- Accident & Sickness (A&S): category of insurance covering illness/injury-related financial risk (income loss and/or expenses).
- ADL (activities of daily living): basic self-care activities (policy-specific definitions; used in LTC triggers).
- AD&D: accidental death & dismemberment coverage; accident-only, indemnity benefit.
- Any‑occupation disability (concept): disability definition tied to inability to work in any gainful occupation (policy-specific).
- Benefit period: maximum time benefits can be payable for a claim (policy-specific).
- Coinsurance: percentage of eligible expenses paid by the insured (reimbursement coverage).
- Coordination of benefits: rules to prevent double payment when multiple plans cover the same expense (common in health/dental).
- Critical illness (CI): lump-sum benefit on specified diagnosis (covered conditions and requirements are policy-specific).
- Deductible: amount the insured pays before reimbursement begins (policy-specific).
- Elimination (waiting) period: time between disability/event and when benefits start (policy-specific).
- Indemnity benefit: fixed benefit payable on trigger (e.g., DI monthly benefit, CI lump sum).
- Integration of benefits: structuring benefits to account for other income sources (employer plans, government benefits).
- Own‑occupation disability (concept): disability definition tied to inability to perform the duties of the insured’s own occupation (policy-specific).
- Pre-existing condition clause: limits coverage for conditions that existed before coverage effective date (policy-specific).
- Reimbursement benefit: pays eligible expenses up to limits and plan rules.
- Residual/partial disability: partial work capacity loss with partial benefits (policy-specific).
✅ Next: use the Syllabus to pick a topic and run a short drill via Practice.