This 5-page article by Chimo Financial Services Inc. provides Canadians with a definition of the phrase "critical illness" and an explanation of critical illness insurance:

• which illnesses and conditions it covers and which it does not cover,
  
• why critical illness insurance is an increasingly important aspect of financial planning,
  
• includes information on illness and recovery rates from statistics gathered by Canadian Cancer Society, Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Alzheimer's Society of Canada.

This article is intended for residents of Canada, and is provided as a PDF file for easy downloading and printing.