Citron Insurance

Left the 9-5 to build something of your own? Here's what happens to your life insurance — and what to do about it. Free consult, Toronto.

https://www.citroninsurance.com/life-insurance-self-employed-toronto

Life Insurance for the Self-Employed: What Nobody Tells You When You Go Out On Your Own

I talk to a lot of people who left a steady job to work for themselves. Lawyers who left big firms. Consultants. Real estate agents. Massage therapists. Artists. People who bet on themselves.

Almost every one of them remembers the moment they started their business. None of them remember that when they left a 9-5, their group life insurance quietly disappeared with it.

That's not a knock on anyone. It's just how it goes. When you're employed, someone else handles this by default. A policy comes bundled with the job, premiums come off your paycheque before you even notice, and nobody ever asks you to think about it. You're covered because you clocked in somewhere.

The day you go out on your own, that default disappears. And there's no "how to start my business" course. In other words, nobody tells you you aren't insured.

The safety net you didn't know you had

Most people don't think of their group benefits as insurance so much as a line item on an offer letter. It's just there. Which is exactly why so few people replace it when it's gone.

I've had clients realize this a year or two into running their own business — usually not because they sat down and audited their coverage, but because something prompted it. A client asked what happens to the contract if something happens to them. A partner brought it up. Or they just had a quiet moment wondering what their family would actually be left with if things went sideways, God forbid, and they realized the honest answer was: less than they thought.

Why self-employed coverage isn't harder, just different

Here's where people tend to assume the worst. They think because their income isn't a steady T4 salary, getting insured is going to be complicated, expensive, or require some kind of forensic audit of their finances.

It isn't, and it doesn't. It's just a different starting point.

When you're employed, an insurer looks at your salary and calls it a day. When you're self-employed, we typically look at your income over the last two to three years — averaged, not cherry-picked from your best quarter — along with what your business actually does and how established it is. A first-year freelancer with lumpy income gets underwritten differently than someone running a profitable practice for a decade. Neither one is disqualifying. It just means the conversation starts with a bit more context than "here's my pay stub."

In other words: variable income doesn't mean you can't get properly covered. It just means the math looks a little different, and a broker who's done this before knows how to build the case.

What's actually on the line

For an employed person, the calculation is fairly straightforward — mortgage, dependents, income replacement. For a business owner, there's usually a second layer sitting quietly underneath that.

Business debt with your name on the personal guarantee. A partner who's counting on you being there. Clients or contracts that exist specifically because of your relationship with them, not some interchangeable employee. If you're the business, in a very real sense, then the business is also exposed every time you are.

While there are more advanced strategies in place, key person insurance or buy-sell agreements — those are a separate conversation for a separate day. What we're talking about is simpler: making sure that if something happens to you, your family isn't left untangling a business and a mortgage and everything else at the same time, with nothing to fall back on.

Where to actually start

The starting point is the same conversation any good insurance agent should start with: who depends on you, what are your financial obligations, and what would actually need to happen financially if you weren't there. The only difference for someone self-employed is that we spend a bit more time on the income side of that picture, and a bit more time asking what the business itself owes and who it leans on.

It's not particularly complicated, it just is not typically a priority when you're building your empire.

If you left a steady job to build something of your own, and you haven't thought about this since you handed in your notice, that's a completely normal place to be. It's also worth a conversation before it becomes an emergency one.

Reach out any time. That conversation is always free.

Life Insurance for the Self-Employed | Citron Insurance Left the 9-5 to build something of your own? Here's what happens to your life insurance — and what to do about it. Free consult, Toronto.

Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

I’m super passionate about being Canadian — it’s part of why going to the World Cup last month (previous post) meant so much to me.

I have to say though, it’s always bothered me that we don’t celebrate Canada Day enough in this country. There’s a distinct lack of patriotism and flags out there. So, I ordered a lawn sign from my MP, Leslie Church small act, but it felt right. So thanks for the lawn sign, Leslie!

In the spirit of celebrating Canada, we actually have one of the best taxation systems in the world for Life Insurance benefits.

In other words, Life Insurance benefits are paid out completely tax-free. Just another reason why we’ve got the best country in the world!

This means that when you’re calculating how much coverage you need, you typically don’t have to factor in taxes.

What you see on the quote is what your family gets.

What’s more is that for the right people, that same tax structure makes leveraging insurance, an extremely powerful tool to build and preserve wealth as efficiently as possible.

Happy Canada Day. 🍁

Wow. The World Cup knockout stage starts today, and Canada is playing! I remember waking up early with my dad to watch France play in ‘98, and again in the middle of the night to see Brazil in 2002.

Soccer unites people. Families, communities, entire countries. The moments of togetherness and preserving those moments are exactly why I got into this business.
I certainly never thought we’d get to say this, but Canada is playing at the world cup, and they can actually advance.

Hopefully they pull through. 🍁🍁🍁

Thinking of my dad especially today. He would have loved this

Wow. The World Cup knockout stage starts today, and Canada is playing! I remember waking up early with my dad to watch France play in '98, and again in the middle of the night to see Brazil in 2002.

Soccer unites people. Families, communities, entire countries. The moments of togetherness and preserving those moments are exactly why I got into this business.

I certainly never thought we'd get to say this, but Canada is playing at the world cup, and they can actually advance.

Hopefully they pull through. 🍁

Thinking of my dad especially today, he would have loved this.

https://www.torontotoday.ca/local/lifestyle/commoner-bartender-struck-by-vehicle-roncesvalles-community-raises-over-21k-12403127

Life happens fast, and in our best moments, the unimaginable can happen. Luckily, the community is stepping in to help this young woman's recovery.

Unforutnately, most people cannot rely on this kind of crowdfunding, that's where disability insurance comes in.

Get in touch or visit citroninsurance.com to learn more.

Roncesvalles community raises over $21K for beloved bartender struck by vehicle When The Commoner bartender Teal Arnot nearly died after being hit by a car on Bloor Street West, her biggest concern was how she would pay her bills

What do you think about when you think about your Mom?

For me, I smile. My mom is a serious success story. The kind that almost never gets talked about. Like many parents out there, my mom had to overcome obstacles I can't even imagine.

She immigrated to Canada as a young girl not knowing any English. She essentially taught herself a new language by watching TV and had to overcome all the challenges that new Canadians still face today.

At my age, she was working full time as a flight attendant while managing three young children. I remember her coming home with stories and small gifts from around the world.

For her, family was always the #1 priority. It's a lesson I take with me to this day.

When family is truly the priority, that means making the time for the necessary conversations. One of those, of course, is what to do about your insurance.

If you've been meaning to have that conversation — reach out! Consults are completely free for moms. (and for everyone else, too!)

Happy Belated Mother's Day!