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General Info
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Best in Canada
Comparisons
Critical illness insurance pays a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed with a covered serious illness — like cancer, heart attack, or stroke. The cash replaces lost income, covers medical bills, or pays for whatever helps you recover.
Health insurance pays the hospital. Life insurance pays your family after you die. Critical illness pays YOU directly while you're alive and fighting — to use any way that helps recovery.
Income replacement during 6-18 months of recovery. Specialized treatments not covered by provincial plans. Mortgage payments while you're off work. Childcare. Travel for treatment. Quality-of-life upgrades.
After diagnosis of a covered condition and the 30-day survival period, you submit a claim. The insurer reviews medical records and pays the full lump sum within about 8 weeks. Spend the money however you want.
Choose your coverage amount ($25K-$2M), pick limited (3 conditions) or comprehensive (25+ conditions) coverage, and a term length (10-25 years or to age 65/75). Premiums lock at signup based on age and health.
Healthy 35-year-old non-smoker: roughly $25-50/mo for $100K of comprehensive CI on a 20-year term. Smoking, family history of major illness, or older age can double or triple that.
Plug in your numbers to estimate your critical illness coverage target. Example below.
Critical illness cost depends on several factors:
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The lowest premium of the three options. Coverage renews every 10 years, with the rate stepping up at each renewal as you age. Best for younger buyers who want the most protection per dollar today and plan to reassess their needs down the road.
Level coverage locked in through your highest-earning decades — exactly when a serious diagnosis would do the most financial damage to your family. A middle-ground choice: more certainty than a 10-year term, and noticeably cheaper than lifetime coverage.
Coverage that never expires and pays out whenever a covered condition strikes, no matter your age. Premiums are the highest of the three, but the policy can build cash value over time and gives you lifelong certainty — useful for estate and legacy planning.
Premiums and the death benefit remain the same throughout the policy term.
Covers only 3-4 major illnesses, typically cancer, heart attack, and stroke. Lower premiums, narrower protection. Good fit for buyers prioritizing affordability over breadth.ART policies are best for covering short-term debt obligations. For example, if you have a car loan but plan to sell it in the near future, an ART policy offers an affordable way to protect yourself within this period.
The death benefit is comprehensive coverage that includes 25+ conditions: cancer, heart attack, stroke, organ failure, paralysis, severe burns, blindness, deafness, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and more. Higher premium but broader peace of mind — we usually prefer life insurance.
You don’t need a medical exam to get coverage, though you may have to answer a few health-related questions.
Group critical illness is a policy that is available for free or at a low cost through your work. It is an excellent option to consider if your workplace provides it.
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