Before you buy, some things you should consider:

1. We recommend that you select the Catastrophic option for all plans that include prescription drug coverage. This provides unlimited coverage for drug costs, and we believe it to be the only plan in Canada that offers this.  All other plans have a cap on drug costs.  It’s been our experience that most Canadians are not aware of these caps in place on prescription drug plans, and many may never need an unlimited plan.  However if you do have a situation where you run into extremely high drug costs do you want a plan with a cap -even a high one?
2. Many people want to purchase a new health insurance plan to cover existing drug or dental costs.  However you should expect that your new plan will not cover existing conditions.
3. It’s common to prefer that your plan will pay out more than the premiums that you pay in.  This is not normally the case – if it were, the insurance companies would lose money.  You should expect that your premiums will be slightly higher than the benefits paid out for most Canadians.
4. Manulife CoverMe (FlexCare) guarantees that they will not raise rates for a specific individual, i.e. if you do have high claims, you can renew without being penalized.
5. It’s important to purchase coverage now – while you are still healthy!  See points 2,3 and 4 above.  If you purchase your coverage now and keep it in place as you get older, then should you encounter high costs in the future that far exceed your premiums you will still be covered (and you should expect your health and dental costs to increase as you age).  For example, if you purchase prescription drug coverage while you are younger and maintain your policy, then should you encounter high drug cost conditions when you get older such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or cholesterol, then your plan will cover you.  If you wait until you have high blood pressure to purchase a plan, you can expect not to be covered for that condition in most cases.
6. Insurance regulations require that we disclose that your insurance broker will be Glenn Cooke (address and info available on the about page).  We receive commission on the sale of insurance products, and may also receive other incentives and bonuses.  As an insurance broker, we routinely do business with many insurance companies including Manulife, Sun Life, Equitable Life, Wawanesa Life, Unity Life, RBC Insurance, BMO Insurance, Transamerica, Canada Life and others.
7. When you are ready to apply simply print out the application and mail it to us.  The application consists of two parts; the primary application and the medical questionnaire.  If you are choosing a dental only plan (DentalPlus Basic or DentalPlus Enhanced) than you need only complete the primary application – no medical questionnaire required.  For all other plans (DrugPlus Basic, DrugPlus Enhanced, ComboPlus Basic, ComboPlus Enhanced) both the primary application and the medical questionnaire should be completed.
8. Upon receipt of your application, Manulife will charge you 2 months of premium (your first and second month’s premium).  Third and subsequent months will be charged one month in advance.  (i.e. they’ll charge you 2 months on application.  At the start of the 2nd month, they’ll charge you for the 3rd month, and so on).
9. Coverage starts the first of the month following acceptance.  Three to five weeks acceptance time is normal.  So if you apply on May 15th, your application might be approved June 15th.  Coverage would then start July 1.
10. If you’re tired of reading websites and just want to speak to someone and get the application going, call Glenn  toll free (866) 662-5433.