(April 17 – 10:00 ET) – Scotiabank is launching a new insurance plan that will pay 100% of your Scotiabank mortgage balance if you are diagnosed with any one of the following conditions: heart attack or coronary bypass, stroke, cancer, deafness, blindness, paralysis or a coma.

Underwritten by The Canada Life Assurance Company, the plan is available to residential mortgage customers up to age 55 and covers mortgage debt up to a maximum of $500,000. Scotiabank’s “Health Crisis Protection” plan differs from the disability insurance products available elsewhere because claims under the bank’s plan are paid regardless of an insured customer’s ability to work.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are able to work or not,” Oscar Zimmerman, CEO of Scotia Insurance, part of the Scotiabank Group, said in a press release. “You do not have to be disabled to claim – you simply need to be diagnosed with one of the covered conditions by your own doctor. It’s a very easy claims process because in our research, that’s what customers told us they wanted.” “About five million Canadian households have a mortgage,” said Zimmerman. “And sadly, to cite just one example, the National Cancer Institute of Canada estimates that 41% of men and 35% of women in Canada will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetimes. These facts demonstrate the value of this type of product for millions of Canadians.

The plan is conveniently available through any one of Scotiabank’s 1,173 branches across Canada and the premiums are more affordable than the typical fees for non-mortgage, lump-sum critical illness insurance. Monthly premiums are calculated per $1,000 of the customer’s mortgage balance at the time of application and vary by the customer’s age. For example, a 40-year-old customer with a mortgage of $100,000 would pay $0.27 per $1,000 of the mortgage balance, or $27.00 per month. Joint coverage is also available, where the premiums are based on the age of the oldest applicant.

More information about the “Health Crisis Protection” plan is available by clicking on the “Mortgages” section of Scotiabank’s website.