When you buy a home, you want security to go with it. Mortgage Critical Illness Insurance1 can provide financial protection by paying off or reducing your mortgage if you’re diagnosed with a covered cancer, acute heart attack or stroke — as long as you survive for at least 30 days.

Mortgage Critical Illness Insurance is underwritten by The Canada Life Assurance Company (Canada Life). Purchase of this insurance is optional and is not required to obtain any CIBC product or service.

Did you know?

Working Canadians understand that a critical illness would have serious financial and emotional consequences. Among their top 5 financial concerns, should they become critically ill, is their inability or struggle to make mortgage or rent payments2. Yet, fewer than 1 in 10 Canadians actually have personal critical illness insurance3.

Your CIBC mortgage balance is reduced or paid off up to $500,000.

This amount is subject to certain conditions. Please refer to the Certificate of Insurance for CIBC Mortgages (PDF, 310 KB) Opens in a new window. for further details.

What does Mortgage Critical Illness Insurance cost?

Premiums are based on your age on the date of your insurance application, the initial insured amount of your mortgage and the applicable premium rate from the rate table below. 

Mortgage Critical Illness Insurance monthly premium rates per $1,000 of the initial insured amount of your mortgage (applicable taxes will be added to your premium)†:

Age group

Single coverage
18 to 29 $0.10
30 to 35 $0.17
36 to 40 $0.27
41 to 45 $0.45
46 to 50 $0.68
51 to 55 $1.01
56 to 60 $1.65
61 to 64 $2.40
65 to 69 $2.70

Your monthly mortgage critical illness insurance premium = the initial insured amount of your mortgage ÷ 1,000 x applicable premium rate.

An example of single coverage calculation:
You are 36 years old on the date of your insurance application and the initial insured amount of your mortgage is $150,000. The monthly mortgage insurance premium would be calculated as follows: $150,000 
(initial insured amount of your mortgage) ÷ 1,000 × $0.27 (the applicable premium rate based on age 36) = $40.50.

Savings for two applicants:
Two applicants that are approved for Mortgage Critical Illness Insurance, save 15% off the combined single premium rates.

† If your CIBC mortgage payment frequency is other than monthly, your insurance premium will be adjusted accordingly.

Am I eligible to apply for Critical Illness Insurance for CIBC Mortgages?

To be eligible to apply for Critical Illness Insurance on your CIBC mortgage loan, you must:

  • be approved for the mortgage loan;
  • be a Canadian resident†;
  • be 18 to 55 years old††;
  • be a borrower, co-borrower or guarantor on the CIBC mortgage; and
  • have less than $500,000 of critical illness insurance coverage on all your critical illness-insured CIBC mortgage loans.

† A person who: 

  • has lived in Canada for a total of 183 days or more during the 365 days prior to the date of your insurance application (days do not need to be consecutive); or 
  • is a member of the Canadian Forces.

†† Available for up to 69 years old under Prior Coverage Recognition.

You can make a claim using the claim form below (also available at CIBC Banking Centres) or by calling the CIBC Creditor Helpline at 1-800-465-6020 Opens your phone app.. We recommend that you make a claim as soon as possible following an insured event.

Notice and proof of claim must be made to Canada Life within 180 days from the date of diagnosis, otherwise the claim will not be payable. Please refer to the claim form below for further details:

Critical Illness insurance claim form (PDF, 210 KB) Opens in a new window.

  Tip: Download the form by right-clicking the file and selecting “Save link as.” You can then open it using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Important documents and other information

Important documents

Your Certificate of Insurance will contain the full details of your coverage, including benefits, cost, eligibility conditions, limitations and exclusions.

To help you make an informed decision, you can access sample certificate of insurance and other important documents below.

  Tip: Download the form by right-clicking the file and selecting “Save link as.” You can then open it using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Information about CIBC

CIBC receives fees from the insurer, The Canada Life Assurance Company, for providing services to the insurer regarding this insurance. Also, the risk under the group policy may be reinsured, in whole or in part, to a reinsurer affiliated with CIBC. The reinsurer earns reinsurance income under this arrangement. Representatives promoting this Insurance on behalf of CIBC may receive compensation.

Frequently asked questions

Get started

Call us at 1-866-321-3639 Opens your phone app.
Find a CIBC Banking Centre Opens a new window in your browser.

For more information about product terms and conditions or further assistance, call CIBC's Creditor Insurance Helpline at 1-800-465-6020 Opens your phone app..

Terms and conditions

1 Critical Illness Insurance for CIBC Mortgages is an optional creditor’s group insurance underwritten by The Canada Life Assurance Company (Canada Life) and administered by Canada Life and CIBC. CIBC receives fees from Canada Life for providing services to Canada Life regarding this insurance. Also, the risk under the group insurance policy may be reinsured, in whole or in part, to a reinsurer affiliated with CIBC. The reinsurer earns reinsurance income under this arrangement. Representatives promoting this insurance on behalf of CIBC may receive compensation. This insurance is subject to eligibility conditions, limitations and exclusions (which are circumstances when benefits are limited or not paid). For the complete terms and conditions, review the sample Certificate of Insurance (PDF, 275 KB) Opens in a new window.. You can also contact Canada Life at 1-800-387-4495Opens your phone app. or visit canadalife.comOpens a new window in your browser.. The information in these pages is general only. Products and their features may change at any time. In case of discrepancy between the information and examples provided on these pages and your Certificate of Insurance, your Certificate of Insurance prevails.

2 Source: GWL/CLA/LL Critical Illness Insurance — Thought Leadership Research 2015 (1786 online interviews)

3 Source: Edward Jones via Leger online panel of 1564 Canadians in October 2016

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