Give the gift of life

Organ donation is one of the greatest altruistic acts—according to ServiceOntario, in Ontario alone, there are 1,500 people waiting for an organ transplant and one organ donor can save up to eight lives. But will making a living organ donation negatively affect your future life insurance options?

According to several underwriters, as long as there are no complications, and your recovery is smooth, your organ donation won’t count against you later in life when applying for life insurance.

But, while your future insurability won’t be affected by your act of kindness, you should still protect yourself by having the appropriate life insurance in place before the procedure, just in case it goes poorly.

If you’re already considering the donation when you’re seeking coverage, you’ll have to disclose the details of the procedure, and some companies may decide not to insure you until after the surgery.

You should carefully review the terms of your existing disability policy to see if complications of organ donation are excluded from coverage.

Also, though you’re acting nobly, that won’t mean any sort of break when it comes time to raise rates. (If insurers were this generous to all charitable people, it would affect everyone’s rates.)

If you’re interested in organ donation, but not until after death, that’s something you should establish when you make or update your estate plan. Check the opt-in procedures of your province and act accordingly. Ontario and B.C. have online organ donor registries, while in Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia and PEI, the opt-in is done on the health card.