Toronto freelance writer, Caroline Cakebread was in her early 30s when someone she knew had a terrible accident while hiking: A rock fell on his head and he lost the ability to walk and talk. “Not only was he in the hospital for months,” says Cakebread, “he was left permanently disabled and unable to work.”

It made Cakebread wonder what would happen to her if she had an accident that took away her ability to work. “I began to wonder how I’d survive — how I’d pay my bills? It was a wakeup call that inspired me to take out disability insurance.”