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Critical Illness Calculator

How much critical illness coverage do you need?

Critical illness insurance pays you a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a covered illness, such as cancer, a heart attack or a stroke. Enter your income and costs to see how much would carry you through recovery.

  • Educational estimate
  • No email or phone number needed
  • No obligation
Start your estimate
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Your estimate$0

The figures below are examples. Replace them with your own.

How we calculate your estimate

These are planning assumptions used by this calculator. An insurer or your broker may use different figures.

  • Income you would lose: your monthly take-home pay, minus any income that would keep coming in, times the months you expect to be off work.
  • Extra monthly costs: the added costs of being ill, such as travel to treatment, parking, childcare and help at home, times the same number of months.
  • One-time costs: things you would pay for once, such as medical equipment, changes to your home, or treatment and drugs your plans do not cover.
  • Debts to clear: any debts you would want paid off so they are not a worry while you recover. Leave this at $0 if you would keep paying them as usual.
  • What you already have: critical illness coverage you hold now, plus savings you would be willing to use. We subtract both.
  • Rounding: the result is rounded up to the nearest $25,000, because coverage is sold in round amounts.Planning assumption. Insurers set their own coverage amounts.

What critical illness insurance is for

  • A lump sum, not a monthly cheque: it is paid once, after a covered diagnosis and a waiting period set by the policy, usually 30 days. You decide how to use it.
  • It works beside disability insurance: disability insurance replaces part of your income each month. Critical illness insurance covers the costs and choices that income alone does not, such as time off for a partner or treatment away from home.
  • Covered conditions differ: each policy lists the illnesses it covers and how it defines them. Cancer, heart attack and stroke are the most common claims.
  • Your health matters: the insurer reviews your health and family history when you apply, so it is easier to get while you are well.

Protect the rest of your plan

Disability Insurance CalculatorSee the monthly benefit that would keep your bills paid if you could not work.Check your income Life Insurance CalculatorSee how much your family would need if you were not there.Check life insurance Mortgage Protection CalculatorSee the coverage that would keep your mortgage paid.Check your mortgage

This calculator gives an estimate for education only. It is not advice and it is not an offer of insurance. Coverage, covered conditions and cost depend on the policy and on underwriting by the insurer, including your health and family history. A licensed Vansure broker reviews your needs with you before you apply.

Ready to explore your options?

Start a critical illness quote online, then review it with a licensed BC broker.

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Common questions

It pays a lump sum if you are diagnosed with an illness the policy covers and you survive the waiting period. Cancer, heart attack and stroke are the most common claims. The list of covered illnesses differs by policy.

When you pay the premiums yourself, the lump sum is generally received tax-free.

Critical illness insurance pays once, on diagnosis, whether or not you can work. Disability insurance pays every month while you cannot work, for any illness or injury the policy covers. Many people hold both. Try the disability insurance calculator.