Several years ago, my benefits coordinator at work told me about some supplemental insurance programs that we were offering for extra cost. The programs were underwritten by Allstate Benefits and included Critical Illness Insurance and Hospital Indemnity Insurance. I signed up for both since I was already at stage 5 of CKD (chronic kidney disease). For Critical Illness Insurance, I enrolled in Plan 4 which costs about $50 each pay period and pays $50k per illness. That same year, I started hemodialysis in July but never filed a claim with the insurance. With the recent heart bypass surgery, I now have two claims to file.
| Benefits | Plan 4 Payout |
| Heart Attack (100%) | $50,000 |
| Stroke (100%) | $50,000 |
| Major Organ Transplant (100%) | $50,000 |
| End Stage Renal Failure (100%) | $50,000 |
| Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) (25%) | $12,500 |
| Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (25%) | $12,500 |
| Invasive Cancer (100%) | $50,000 |
| Carcinoma in Situ (Non-invasive Cancer) (25%) | $12,500 |
| Second Event Initial Critical Illness Benefit | Yes |
| Benign Brain Tumor (100%) | $50,000 |
| Coma (100%) | $50,000 |
| Complete Blindness (100%) | $50,000 |
| Complete Loss of Hearing (100%) | $50,000 |
| Paralysis (100%) | $50,000 |
For some reason, they only pay out 25% for CABG surgery. Maybe it’s not as serious as ESRD (ha!). Also, if you have a second critical illness event of the same type, they will pay again. I don’t know how they would treat ESRD since I went from hemodialysis to peritoneal dialysis and back again. Probably counts as one illness event since I never stopped dialysis. My benefits coordinator said she will help me fill out the claim forms. For sure I can claim both the ESRD and CABG items for $50,000 + $12,500. If I have the transplant this year, then it’s another $50,000 for a major organ transplant. Not bad for $1,300/year in premiums.
The other insurance for hospital indemnity doesn’t pay that well. It pays $1,500 for the first day, then up to 10 additional days at $150/day. You can also only make one claim per year. I don’t know if they will count my CABG surgery as two claims: critical illness plus hospital stay. You really can’t have the surgery without staying in the hospital. If they count it as a separate claim, then it’s $1,500 + $150 x 9 days = $2,850. I also stayed in the hospital for a few days back in 2018 for a foot biopsy. Looking at old medical claim forms, it appears to be three days in May 2018 so maybe another $1,500 + $150 x 2 days = $1,800. I hope Allstate doesn’t drop our insurance coverage because of me.
If any of my claims are paid, I told my benefits coordinator that I’d buy her a nice steak dinner.
Life with chronic diseases 
One thought on “Additional Insurance”