With disability insurance1, your family won’t have to worry about making the payments on your CIBC Personal Line of Credit (PLC) or Education Line of Credit (ELC) if you can no longer work due to a disability.

Disability Insurance for CIBC Personal Lines of Credit is underwritten by The Canada Life Assurance Company (Canada Life). Purchase of this insurance is optional and isn’t required to obtain any CIBC product or service.

Did you know?

76% of Canadian workers believe that a disability preventing them from working for 3 months would have serious financial consequences.2

Coverage and maximum benefit

If you become disabled, the monthly benefit is applied towards your regular monthly PLC payments. This benefit amount is 3% of the lowest of the following amounts:

  • The end-of-day balance owing to CIBC on your insured PLC on the date you first become disabled; 
  • The credit limit of your insured PLC on the date you first become disabled;
  • The Canada Life-approved maximum coverage amount for your insured PLC on the date you first become disabled; 
  • The Capped Disability Benefit Amount†; or 
  • $200,000.

The maximum monthly benefit is $6,000 per month, for a maximum period of 24 months. You will have to wait 30 days following the date you become disabled before benefits will be payable.

† The Capped Disability Benefit Amount only applies if you become disabled from a condition or health problem for which you received medical treatment, as defined above, after you first applied for Disability Insurance coverage on your CIBC PLC and in the 12 months before your disability occurred. The Capped Disability Benefit Amount is the highest end-of-day balance of the insured CIBC PLC owing to CIBC in the 12 months preceding the date on which you first received medical treatment.

What does Disability Insurance for CIBC Personal Lines of Credit cost?

Your PLC disability insurance premium is calculated and accumulated daily. If you have a balance on any day, there will be a premium payable for that day. Your premium is based on your CIBC PLC or ELC insured outstanding balance and the applicable premium rate from the rate table below. Your premium rate is based on your age on the first day of the month in which your premium is calculated.

Approximate† PLC Disability Insurance monthly premium rate per $1,000 of the end-of-day insured outstanding balance of the CIBC PLC or ELC owed (applicable taxes will be added to your premium):

Age group

Single coverage

Joint coverage††
18 to 40 $0.87 $1.52
41 to 55 $1.19 $2.08
56 to 69 $2.50 $4.38

Your monthly PLC Disability Insurance premium = the PLC insured outstanding balance × the applicable premium rate.

Your CIBC PLC or ELC insured outstanding balance is the lowest of:

  • end-of-day balance of the PLC or ELC; 
  • the credit limit; 
  • the disability insurance coverage limit Canada Life communicated to you by letter (if applicable); or 
  • $200,000. 

The accumulated daily insurance premiums, plus any applicable taxes, are charged to the PLC or ELC on the billing date. 

An example of premium calculation for single coverage:

You are 42 years old and your CIBC PLC or ELC balance is $50,000. Your Disability Insurance premium for one day is calculated as follows: ($1.19 (applicable premium rate based on age 42) × 12 months ÷ 365 days) × ($50,000 insured balance ÷ $1,000) = $1.956. If your balance remained at $50,000 for the entire 30-day billing period, the monthly premium would be the $1.956 daily rate added for the 30 days, which is $58.68. 

Savings for life and disability insurance coverage:

If you have life insurance and disability insurance coverage on your PLC or ELC, the disability insurance premiums are discounted by 10%, reducing to $58.68 × (1 - 10 ÷ 100) = $52.81. 

† The monthly premium will vary depending on the number of days in the month. The above rate table is based on a year with 365 days spread over 12 equal months. 

†† If 2 people are insured on the PLC and both are approved for the same insurance coverage amount, the disability insurance premium rate is based on the age of the older person. If 2 individuals are insured through the PLC and each person has been approved for a different insurance coverage amount, the disability insurance premium rate is based on the age of the older person for the coverage amount that is common to both people. The disability insurance premium for the additional coverage amount is based on the age of the person insured for such additional coverage.

Am I eligible to apply for Disability Insurance for CIBC Personal Lines of Credit?

To be eligible to apply for the PLC Disability Insurance on your CIBC PLC or ELC, you must:

  • be approved for the PLC/ELC;
  • be a Canadian resident†;
  • be 18 to 64 years old; 
  • be a borrower, co-borrower or guarantor on a CIBC PLC/ELC;
  • not be receiving disability benefits from any source;
  • be gainfully employed and able to perform your regular duties of your principal occupation (for at least 25 hours per week) or your duties as a seasonal worker; and
  • not have more than 3 disability-insured personal lines of credit under the group insurance policy.

† A person who: 

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

Making a claim

You can make a claim using the claim form below (also available at CIBC Banking Centres) or by calling the CIBC’s Creditor Insurance Helpline at 1-800-465-6020Opens 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 120 days from the date of disability, otherwise the claim will not be payable. For further details, refer to the Disability insurance claim form (PDF, 390 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 certificates 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 affiliated with CIBC may earn reinsurance income under this arrangement. Representatives promoting this insurance on behalf of CIBC may receive compensation.

Frequently asked questions

Get started

Call us: 1-877-868-8018 Opens your phone app.
Find a CIBC Banking Centre Opens in a new window.

For more information about product terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions and other provisions or further assistance, visit one of our banking centres or call CIBC's Creditor Insurance Helpline at  1-800-465-6020Opens your phone app..

Terms and conditions

1 Disability Insurance for CIBC Personal Lines of Credit is 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), including pre-existing medical/health condition exclusions. For the complete terms and conditions, review the sample Certificate of Creditor Insurance for CIBC Personal Lines of Credit (PDF, 245 KB) Opens in a new window.. You can also contact Canada Life at 1-800-387-4495 Opens your phone app.. Or you can visit canadalife.com Opens in a new window.. 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: Benefits Canada, Workers Unprepared for Financial Impact of Disabilities, January 20, 2015.

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