Critical Illness Insurance

A covered diagnosis like a heart attack, stroke, or cancer triggers one lump-sum payment.

No cost. No pressure. Takes about 2 minutes.

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Surviving is the expensive part

Major medical pays the hospital. It doesn’t pay the mortgage while you’re off work, the flights to a specialist, or the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum landing in the same year. Critical illness insurance pays one lump sum on a covered diagnosis, to you, for exactly that pile-up.

The mortgage keeps getting paid

Fixed costs don’t pause for treatment. The check holds the household steady while income wobbles.

Travel to the right treatment

Flights, lodging, a caregiver’s time off. None of it is a covered service; all of it is real.

The income gap while you heal

Months off work, reduced hours, the out-of-pocket max landing all at once. The check absorbs the pile-up.

Triggered by diagnosis

A covered diagnosis triggers a payment. No itemizing, no receipts.

You pick the maximum

Choose your benefit amount at enrollment; premiums scale with it.

Spend it anywhere

The check is unrestricted: mortgage, travel, or the income gap.

Most plans pay on first diagnosis, after a short waiting period from the effective date, often around 30 days. Benefits are per covered person.

Rest easy

Covered conditions

Covered conditions are named in the policy, and each carrier defines its own list. These are examples of conditions commonly covered by critical illness plans.

Alzheimer’s disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Coma
Heart attack
Life-threatening cancer
Major organ transplant
Renal failure
Stroke

Plus many more, named in your policy’s schedule. One first diagnosis from the list triggers the payment, made directly to you.

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Before you enroll

Condition lists differ. An agent reads yours with you

Every carrier defines its own covered conditions, payout tiers, and waiting periods, and every state edits the list. A licensed agent, not a call center, walks the definitions and dollar amounts for your ZIP in plain English, at no cost and with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions

GetHealthPlans.com licensed agent GetHealthPlans.com licensed agent Answers by our licensed team Reviewed for accuracy Updated September 1, 2026

A supplemental policy that pays one lump-sum cash benefit if you are diagnosed with a covered condition such as a heart attack, stroke, or qualifying cancer. The payment goes to you, not to a hospital.

No. It’s a supplement to health insurance, not a substitute for major medical coverage, and it does not satisfy the Affordable Care Act’s minimum essential coverage requirement. Treatment itself is your health plan’s job; this policy pays cash on diagnosis.

A first diagnosis of a condition your policy covers, after a short waiting period from the effective date, often around 30 days. Tiered plans pay 100% of your maximum on major events and smaller percentages or flat amounts on early-stage ones.

You choose a benefit maximum when you enroll, and premiums scale with it. Major qualifying events pay the full maximum; early-stage events typically pay a percentage; certain minor events pay a small flat amount.

No. The benefit is unrestricted: the mortgage, travel to treatment, childcare, the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, or the income gap while you heal.

On many tiered plans, yes. A partial payout leaves the rest of your lifetime maximum available for future qualifying events. Your policy defines how the pool depletes.

Broken bones and ER trips are injury risk, which belongs to accident insurance; it pays per covered event instead of once. A covered diagnosis is what triggers this policy, and the treatment itself, either way, is major medical’s job.

Premiums depend on your age band, the maximum you choose, and your state. They step up in older age bands, and underwriting gets harder after a first cardiac or cancer event, so it is cheapest the year you first consider it. Run your ZIP above or call and we’ll price real carriers in minutes.