CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE:
RECOVERY BENEFIT PLAN 
Critical illness (CI) insurance provides a tax-free cash lump sum upon diagnosis of any covered condition and for a specific survival time period after diagnosis. Because CI policies are recovery benefit plans, the survival period, in most cases, is 30 days unless otherwise stated. Payment of the insured amount is based on and limited to only the first covered condition to occur as defined by the policy. Once the insured amount is fully paid, the policy is cancelled.

 

Over 25 conditions are covered under CI policies, offered by various insurance companies. Some companies cover only major, life threatening diseases. Others also cover non-life threatening diseases, also known as Early Discovery (ED) Covered Conditions, like coronary angioplasty and various types of early stage cancer – breast, prostate, skin, blood, intestinal, and/or thyroid. The ED benefit is payable only once for the occurrence of early discovered conditions and the amount paid does not reduce the policy premium or the amount of coverage.

 

Diagnosis of any covered condition must be made by a legally-licensed medical practitioner, specializing in the particular area of medicine relevant to the CI condition for which the claim is being made. In the absence of specialist diagnosis, a condition may be diagnosed by a qualified medical professional practising within Canada or USA.

 

Payment of CI claims is not dependant on the insured’s ability to work. Coverage can supplement lost income due to frequent hospital visits and recovery time, and/or can be used to maintain daily living, business, and extra medical expenses.

CI policy add-ons

For an extra cost, the following benefits can be added to CI policies. When returned, such amounts become a good source of income in times of need:

• Return of premium upon sudden loss of life during the policy term.

• Return of premium if the insured is never diagnosed with any of the covered conditions