Calgary Life Insurance and Investment Corp. was founded on the values of compassion, integrity and preparation after I suffered a critical illness that changed my life forever.

On January 4, 2004, I was participating in a martial arts class which I had done five days a week for over 41 years. During the class, just like every class before, I was teaching a simple defensive manoeuvre. The manoeuvre was a defensive tactic that would have me approach my opponent in a swift motion resulting in me being thrown to the ground. The manoeuvre went terribly wrong. The impact was so immense that it caused the artery in my neck to tear and occlude the blood flow to my brain, causing me to have a stroke.

The stroke changed my life drastically in an instant. I didn’t have life insurance through my own financial planner and I was not provided with information about critical illness insurance or the benefits of having it. Because of the stroke I was hospitalized for 9 weeks, lost all sensation, lost the ability to move my arms and legs, lost a vocal cord and lost my sight for 6 months. Unable to work, my wife had to pick up three jobs just to keep up with the family bills. All of our retirement savings were depleted.

The generosity of others was a major help in getting our family through this ordeal. Our local church helped us pay our mortgage while an anonymous individual added me to their company payroll and paid me a bi-monthly income to help with our costs. Had I had critical illness insurance, I would have been allowed the time to heal without using our retirement savings and most important, my family would have been able to sustain the life we were living.

Having done martial arts all of my life, my athletic history was the reason I survived the critical illness without serious permanent issues. If my personal story will make you re-evaluate your own personal insurance needs, then I have fulfilled my goal. As I always say “you don’t plan to fail, you fail to plan”.