Engineers Canada insurance plans
Business Overhead Expense
For self-employed people and business owners who pay their own office costs: it covers your business’s fixed expenses while a disability keeps you from working.
Underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife).
- Up to $8,000 a month
- for business expenses
- 14 or 30 days
- waiting period, your choice
- Pays actual expenses
- up to your monthly benefit
Underwritten by Manulife
Key features
What the plan gives you
Reimburses the fixed costs of running your practice, such as rent, utilities and staff salaries, while you’re totally disabled and can’t work.
$500 to $8,000 a month
Choose a monthly benefit in $100 steps, up to your average fixed business expenses over the past 6 months.
Waiver of premium
After 3 months of disability, premiums stop while benefits are paid, and those paid during the waiting period are refunded.
Extended benefit
Still disabled when your benefits reach their maximum? Up to 40% of your monthly benefit continues for business leases and instalment payments, for up to 60 months or to 65, whichever comes first.
Death benefit
Three times your monthly benefit, paid to your beneficiary or estate, if you die before 70 while receiving benefits.
Guaranteed re-entry
Insured for two years and leaving for an employer plan? Rejoin within 10 years, before 55, with no medical evidence.
Partial disability
Back at work part-time after a total disability that began before 60? 50% of your benefit for up to 3 months.
Also included
- 10-day money-back guaranteeReturn your certificate within 10 days for a refund of the premium paid.
- Recurring disabilityThe same disability returns within 3 months of going back to work? Benefits resume with no new waiting period.
Talk to us about this plan
Our advice on the Engineers Canada plans comes at no additional cost.
Book a callOr call 1-800-661-3300
How long benefits last
Paid until your benefit maximum
Payments stop when you recover, when they reach 12 times your monthly benefit, after 3 years, or at 70, whichever comes first.
Example
$5,000 a month in coverage and full expenses reaches the $60,000 total in 12 months. If expenses taper off, the same $60,000 can stretch over about 24 months.
Eligible expenses
What the plan covers
Your share of the normal costs of running your office, as actually incurred. Expenses you can recover from another source aren’t covered.
Covered
- Rent, electricity, heat, water and other utilities
- Accountant fees
- Staff salaries and benefits
- Taxes, other than personal income tax
- Equipment depreciation
- Telephone, postage and delivery
- Website and internet hosting costs
- Stationery and office supplies
- Equipment and property leases, for the business share
- Property, casualty and errors and omissions insurance
- Other normal office costs, and a monthly share of annual fees and subscriptions
Not covered
- Your own pay
- Inventory: goods, wares or merchandise
- The tools of your trade or profession
Who can apply
Eligibility
Who
Canadian residents who are members of an engineering or geoscience regulator (including members in training), a participating technologist or architect association, or an accredited engineering student.
Ages and requirements
Under 65 to apply, working at least 20 hours a week. Coverage ends at 70; from 65 to 69 it can only be renewed.
The application asks health questions, and Manulife may ask for medical or financial information.
See full eligibility
You can apply if you’re a Canadian resident and:
- A member of the engineering regulators that license the country’s 300,000 members of the profession (including members in training), or an engineering student in a program accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board
- A member of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers or Genium360
- A member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario, Geoscientists Nova Scotia or the Ordre des géologues du Québec
- A member of one of the participating provincial associations of professional technicians and technologists
- A member of the Manitoba Association of Architects, the Architects’ Association of New Brunswick, the Nova Scotia Association of Architects or the Architects Association of Prince Edward Island
- A full-time employee of Engineers Canada, one of the engineering regulators or participating organizations, or Youth Science Canada
- A limited licensee or a provincial licensee
- Members of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec aren’t eligible for this plan.
Rates
Current monthly premiums
Monthly premium per $100 of monthly benefit. Rates last checked October 2026. Source: Manulife. Premiums can change.
| Age | 14-day waiting period | 30-day waiting period |
|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | $0.90 | $0.70 |
| 30 to 34 | $1.02 | $0.81 |
| 35 to 39 | $1.33 | $1.12 |
| 40 to 44 | $1.44 | $1.26 |
| 45 to 49 | $1.64 | $1.49 |
| 50 to 54 | $1.89 | $1.67 |
| 55 to 59 | $2.19 | $1.98 |
| 60 to 64 | $2.38 | $2.17 |
| 65 to 69 | $2.64 | $2.40 |
- Premiums rise as you enter each age band. Ages 65 to 69 are renewal rates only. The minimum benefit is $500 a month.
- Provincial sales tax is added to premiums in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Paying once a year: divide the monthly premium by 0.09, about 7% less than twelve monthly payments.
Want the premium for your exact age and benefit? We’ll work it out with you.
Exclusions and limitations
What isn’t covered
- Any period of disability, including the waiting period, when you aren’t under continuing medical treatment that Manulife considers satisfactory
- Any period of disability while you’re outside Canada for more than six months
- Intentionally self-inflicted injury, unless medical evidence shows it’s related to a mental illness
- Injury or illness from service in the armed forces of any country
- Disability from war, insurrection, or taking part in a riot or civil commotion
- Pregnancy, except complications
- Committing or attempting to commit an assault or criminal offence
- Alcoholism, drug addiction or other addiction, unless you’re in a therapeutic program Manulife recognizes and under a specialist’s continuous care
- A mental or nervous condition, unless you’re under the care of a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist
- Any period on legally required maternity leave or another leave of absence
- Any period of incarceration by order of a criminal court
- Operating any aircraft for pay
Limitations
Losing a government permit or licence you need for your work doesn’t, on its own, make you totally disabled.
If another source will pay back part of an expense, the plan reduces its payment by that amount.
Common questions
Business Overhead Expense FAQ
How much coverage can I buy?
Up to your average fixed monthly business expenses over the last six months, less any overhead coverage you already have, from $500 to $8,000 a month in $100 steps.
What if my expenses are lower than my monthly benefit?
The plan pays your actual eligible expenses, up to your monthly benefit, and payments continue until they total 12 times your monthly benefit, 3 years have passed, you recover, or you reach 70, whichever comes first. So lower expenses stretch the benefit over a longer time. If expenses in a month are higher than your benefit, the extra is carried into the next month.
Is this the same as disability insurance?
No. Business Overhead Expense pays the fixed costs of running your office while you’re disabled. It doesn’t replace your own income: that’s what Disability Income Protection does.
Does it pay my own salary?
No. It doesn’t cover your own pay, inventory, or the tools of your trade. For your own income, see Disability Income Protection.
Related plans
Often considered together
A question about your coverage? Ask us.
No obligation. We’ll tell you plainly what we think, including when you already have what you need.