FAQ: Useful questions and answer about our products – AXA Canada British Columbia

Your personal possessions represent your family's security and if they were destroyed, you would need to come up with the money to replace them. Insurance protects you against financial loss and gives you peace of mind.

There is a significant difference between purchasing your insurance through an independent insurance broker or advisor purchasing it directly from a captive agent or salesperson of a bank or insurance company. Rather than being "sold" the one product line offered by the direct channel, an independent broker or advisor represents many quality insurers. By marketing your insurance requirements to many companies and by comparing products and prices, an independent broker or advisor can tailor an insurance program that delivers the best value for you. You get professional expertise, personal attention and the benefits of choice. Your best insurance is an AXA broker or advisor.

There is a significant difference between purchasing your insurance through an independent insurance broker or advisor purchasing it directly from a captive agent or salesperson of a bank or insurance company. Rather than being "sold" the one product line offered by the direct channel, an independent broker or advisor represents many quality insurers. By marketing your insurance requirements to many companies and by comparing products and prices, an independent broker or advisor can tailor an insurance program that delivers the best value for you. You get professional expertise, personal attention and the benefits of choice. Your best insurance is an AXA broker or advisor.

Visit the PhoneBusters site today for tips on how to avoid telemarketing fraud!

If you have to make a claim, it’s reassuring to know that you’re insured by a company whose reputation has been built on a motto that is also its trademark: "Quality Insurance Pays®"

After contacting the police following an accident or to report a theft or burglary, your first step is to contact your broker or advisor, who will explain the details of your coverage and contact us on your behalf.

You should be prepared to provide the following information:

Automobile Claims

• Your policy number
• Details regarding the accident:
  • Date, time, location
  • Whether there were any injuries
  • Whether there were any passengers
• Vehicle information:
  • Registration number, make, model, year, licence plate number
• Nature of the damage
• Driver's name and licence number
• Whether there were any police charges
• Details of other drivers and vehicles involved

Property Claims (Home/Business)

• Your policy number
• Date and time of loss
• Police/fire report details
• Nature of the damage

Once your claim is reported, you will promptly be contacted by an adjuster to verify the facts relating to the claim and to determine the settlement amount. The adjuster will be your contact person until your claim file is closed and will guide you through your options in regard to replacing or repairing your property. Depending on the severity of the loss, the claim will be handled by telephone or in person by a staff adjuster or by an independent adjuster appointed on our behalf.

Working With Your Adjuster
After reporting your claim, you may have to make temporary repairs to your property to protect it from further damage. You will need to save your receipts and submit them to your adjuster.

You will be asked to complete a "Proof of Loss" form and to support it with medical invoices, repair bills and a copy of your police report.

Maintain records of your expenses and copies of your paperwork. Be sure to also keep copies of all correspondence we send to you.

Once we agree on the terms of your settlement, payment will be sent to you in short order.

Click here to download the Sponsorship Policy of AXA

A number of factors affect your home rate, including:

• The amount of coverage and the applicable deductible
• The type of coverage chosen (all risks, named perils, etc.)
• Additional coverage risks included in the policy (sewer back-up, earthquake, etc.)
• Territory and fire protection (fire hydrant, fire department, etc.)
• Number of years insured and number of claim-free years
• Year of construction (if you are the owner); number of dwelling units (if you are a tenant)
• Type of heating system
• Security system (burglar alarm)
• Age of the insured

• Protect your home with a security system to reduce risks and qualify for a discount on your insurance premiums.
• Increase the amount of your deductible.
• Preventive measures and good maintenance of your property are other factors that help reduce your insurance premium because they reduce your risks.

To be adequately covered in the event of a loss, you should take an inventory of your belongings. An AXA broker or advisor can advise you in this regard.

The amount of coverage you take out should correspond to what it would cost to rebuild your home. Your AXA broker or advisor will help you determine the reconstruction cost, based on the specifications of your house (size, number of storeys, type of heating system, materials, etc.).

Your income is the cornerstone of your financial security. Disability insurance protects your employment earnings by providing you with income when you are unable to work as a result of a disability.

If in life you’ve been spared from sickness or an accident, then count yourself lucky. But keep in mind that you cannot predict what the future holds for you. 
Disability insurance is as crucial as life insurance since you are more likely to become disabled than you are to die prematurely (source: Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association).

AXA’s Individual Disability Plan offers 365/24/7 coverage in case of an accident or an illness. Individual Disability Plan includes a wide range of benefits:
- Disability due to Accident Benefit;
- Disability due to Illness Benefit;
- Business Overhead Expense Benefit (Accident);
- Business Overhead Expense Benefit (Illness);
- Hospital Allowance due to Accident
- Hospital Allowance due to Illness
- Critical Illness Benefit;
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment Benefit;
- Benefit in case of fracture

As you can see, Individual Disability Plan provides much more than just a disability benefit. It also offers business overhead expense coverage. The insureds and their beneficiaries can use other benefits according to their needs.

This benefit covers a company’s fixed expenses (regular offices expenditures) and allows the continuation of business operations for a defined period of time.

You could receive benefits for a disability due to an accident or an illness of up to $3,500 per month.

Disability coverage ends at age 65.

A 20-year-old male is about three times as likely to become disabled for 90 days or more than to die before age 65. For a 35-year-old woman, the odds are 7 to 1!

Partial disability is defined based on tasks performed by the insured and/or time (number of hours worked), whereas residual disability is defined based on an insured’s loss of income. The purpose of both of these provisions is to help individuals suffering from a disability to return to work, without totally depriving them of benefits.

Everyone can benefit from Critical Illness insurance. Statistically, you’re unfortunately more likely to suffer from a critical illness than you are to die before the age of 75. And, in most cases, people don’t realize how a critical illness can affect your estate or your family life until it’s too late. That’s why most people should consider taking out this type of benefit.

Thanks to Critical Illness benefit, you can protect your lifestyle and lessen your financial worries.

Your benefit could allow you to:
- Have access to the best medical treatment in Canada or abroad;
- Protect your estate (RRSP, loan, mortgage payments, etc.);
- Enable a parent or spouse to take time off work to care for a sick child or spouse;
- Have your home refitted or obtain special equipment as a result of an illness;
- Hire home caregiver to help with household chores or care for children;
- For business owners: compensate for the loss of an employee;
- Take an unpaid leave of absence to recover.

As you can see, you can use the benefit as you’d like based on your own priorities.

AXA lets you choose between Critical Illness Protection which covers three illnesses:
- Cancer (life-threatening)
- Heart attack
- Stroke (cerebrovascular accident)

or Critical Illness Protection Enhanced which covers up to 28 illnesses:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Aortic surgery
- Aplastic anemia
- Autism
- Bacterial meningitis
- Benign brain tumour
- Blindness
- Cancer (life-threatening)
- Coma
- Coronary artery bypass surgery
- Cystic fibrosis
- Deafness
- Heart attack
- Heart valve replacement
- Kidney failure
- Loss of independent existence
- Loss of limbs
- Loss of speech
- Major organ failure on waiting list
- Major organ transplant
- Motor neuron disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Occupational HIV infection
- Paralysis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Severe burns
- Stroke (cerebrovascular accident)

In Canada, one in three women and two in five men will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime (source: www.cancer.ca – Canadian Cancer Statistics 2006).

In order to receive benefits for a loss of independence, insureds must be totally and permanently unable to perform, by themselves, at least two of the following six activities of daily living:
1. feeding;
2. dressing;
3. bladder and bowel continence;
4. transferring;
5. bathing;
6. toileting;

or suffer from cognitive impairment.

Cognitive impairment means a mental deterioration and loss of intellectual ability, evidenced by deterioration in memory, orientation and reasoning, which are measurable and result from demonstrable organic cause as diagnosed by a specialist. The degree of cognitive impairment must be sufficiently severe as to require a minimum of eight (8) hours of daily supervision.