Hospital Indemnity Insurance

Every benefit below is transcribed from GTL Advantage Plus Elite brochure GAD22.1-24 (Rev. 8/25) 15B665. Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

• Hospital confinement Included

  A daily cash benefit if you are hospitalized for a 24-hour period, as observation or confinement. Base plan choices of 1 day (up to $2,500 daily) or 3 to 15 days (up to $990 daily). Restores in full, an unlimited number of times, after 60 days with no hospital confinement.

• Short duration hospital stay Included

  Pays the chosen daily benefit if you are admitted and discharged between 6 and 24 hours. 25% of the daily amount on the 1-day plan.

• Emergency room Included

  $150 if you are treated in an emergency room, emergency care or urgent care facility after an accident or injury. No hospital admission needed.

• Mental health Included

  $175 per day for up to seven days of hospital confinement for a mental or nervous disorder. Paid in place of the confinement benefit, not on top of it.

• Skilled nursing facility rider Optional rider

  Option 1 pays $100–$300 per day for days 1–50; Option 2 pays the same for days 21–100. Either requires a three-day hospital stay first, with admission within 30 days. Restores after 60 days with no confinement.

  Not offered by GTL in Minnesota. Option 2 (days 21–100) is additionally unavailable in MD.

• Cancer lump sum rider Optional rider

  $2,500 to $20,000 on a cancer diagnosis, including 25% for cancer in situ and $500 for basal or squamous cell skin carcinoma.

  Not offered by GTL in Minnesota. Waiting period: 30 days in most states (none in MD).

• Recurrence rider Optional rider

  Restores the cancer lump sum over time — 10% after one year without recurrence, rising to 100% after five.

  Not offered by GTL in Georgia, Minnesota.

• Ambulance rider Optional rider

  $50 to $400 per ground or air ambulance trip to or from a hospital. Once per day, four times a year, 12 trips lifetime. No confinement required.

• Outpatient therapy rider Optional rider

  $50 a day for outpatient physical, occupational or speech therapy, up to 15 or 30 days a year. Chiropractic therapy $50 a day up to 5 days a year, for injury due to accident.

• Outpatient surgical rider Optional rider

  $250, $500, $750 or $1,000 for a surgical procedure in an ambulatory surgical center or outpatient hospital facility, up to twice a year.

• Lump sum hospital rider Optional rider

  $250, $500 or $750 toward a lump sum hospital co-pay, on top of the daily benefit. Once per confinement, restoring after 60 days.

  Not available with the 1-day benefit period.

• Guaranteed purchase option with wellness rider Optional rider

  Increase the confinement benefit by 10% of its original amount up to five times before age 85, at issue-age rates, with no further underwriting. Includes $100 a year for a physical examination.

  Waiting period: Wellness: 30 days in most states (none in MD).

• Critical accident rider Optional rider

  After an emergency room visit, a lump sum by injury: accidental death $5,000 or $10,000; hip or skull fracture $1,250 or $2,500; hip dislocation $1,000 or $2,000; knee dislocation or ligament tear $500 or $1,000; other fracture $250 or $500.

  Waiting period: 30 days in most states (none in MD).

• Dental and vision rider Optional rider

  Up to $400, $800 or $1,200 a year for a licensed dentist, ophthalmologist or optometrist after the first year, including $200 toward prescription glasses or contact lenses.

  Not offered by GTL in Georgia, Minnesota, Tennessee. Waiting period: 3 months.

Issue ages

Guaranteed issue for ages 64½ up to age 75 in most states

Underwriting

Simplified underwriting with instant approval

Renewability

Guaranteed renewable for life while premiums are paid on time. Premiums change only on a class basis within your state.

Pre-existing conditions

Benefits are not paid for a pre-existing condition unless the loss begins more than six months after your effective date. (No pre-existing condition limitation in NC.)

Policy form

G2150. Rider forms RG21ASB, RG21CA, RG15CLS, RG15CLSR, RG15DV, RG21LSH, RG21OPS, RG21OPT, RG21SNF, RG21SNF-EP, RG24GPO, RG24W. Form numbers and benefits vary by state.

Every benefit below is transcribed from the Aetna Hospital Indemnity Flex outline of coverage CLIHF03993NV (Nevada edition), for policy form CLIHIPL217 NV, and from the Aetna Hospital Indemnity Flex brochure CLIHF04053NV (Nevada edition), the Aetna Senior Supplemental Insurance company profile CGFMP08395, which states the A.M. Best rating and its date. Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

• The base benefit: a daily amount for every day you are in hospital Included

  Paid for each day of hospital confinement, in $10 units subject to minimum daily benefit amounts, up to a maximum daily benefit amount of $1,000. It is limited by the maximum number of days per period of care and the lifetime maximum number of days.

  A $1,000 daily ceiling is the highest on this page by a distance. What you actually buy is a number of $10 units, so the premium scales with the benefit rather than coming in fixed plan levels.

• An observation stay pays half, and only instead of the daily benefit Included

  If you receive services in an observation unit of a hospital, the policy pays 50% of the daily hospital confinement benefit, once per period of care. It is not payable if the daily hospital confinement benefit is paid.

  Read the second sentence twice. Observation and confinement do not both pay for the same stay — an observation stay that turns into an admission pays the confinement benefit, not both.

• Optional rider: skilled nursing facility Optional rider

  Pays for each day of skilled care in a skilled nursing facility, in $10 units up to a maximum daily benefit amount of $500, with a choice of covered days — days 1 to 20, days 21 to 100, or days 1 to 100. There is no lifetime maximum number of covered days for this benefit.

  Three conditions all have to be met: a physician has ordered daily skilled care that as a practical matter can only be given in a skilled nursing facility, admission immediately follows a hospital confinement of at least three consecutive days, and the care falls on a covered day. The three-day hospital stay requirement is the one that catches people.

• Optional rider: outpatient doctor's office visits Optional rider

  Pays when the insured has a physician office visit for a covered illness or injury, in $10 units up to a maximum of $100 per visit, subject to a maximum number of visits per calendar year.

  Visits for preventive care, mental and nervous disorders, substance use disorders and pregnancy are not covered under this benefit.

• Optional rider: outpatient surgery Optional rider

  Pays when an outpatient surgical procedure is performed at an ambulatory surgical centre or outpatient surgical facility for a covered illness or injury, in $250 units up to a maximum of $3,000 per surgical procedure, subject to a maximum number per calendar year.

  If more than one surgical procedure is performed at the same time, only one benefit amount is paid — even where the procedures are caused by more than one covered illness or injury.

• Optional rider: emergency room visit or ambulance Optional rider

  Pays when the insured has an emergency room visit or an ambulance service by air, ground or water, in $200 increments up to $600, subject to a maximum number per calendar year. Services must be medically necessary and provided on an emergency basis.

  Only one benefit amount per day is payable even if the insured has both an emergency room visit and an ambulance service on the same day.

• Optional rider: outpatient rehabilitation Optional rider

  Pays for each day the insured receives occupational, physical or speech therapy on an outpatient basis for a covered illness or injury, in $50 units up to a maximum benefit amount of $250 per visit, with a choice of 15 or 30 visits per calendar year.

  Without this rider those three therapies are excluded outright. That is set out in the exclusions below and it is the clearest example on this page of a rider buying back an exclusion.

• Optional rider: a lump sum if you are diagnosed with cancer Optional rider

  $2,500, $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000, paid on a diagnosis of cancer made after the effective date and after a 30 day benefit waiting period. Only one cancer benefit amount is paid per insured person under the policy.

  Waiting period: 30 days. The diagnosis must be pathological. A clinical diagnosis, based on the study of symptoms, is accepted only where a pathological one cannot be made. Skin cancer other than malignant melanoma, premalignant conditions and any disease other than cancer are excluded.

• What the policy will not pay for Not covered

  Experimental or investigational procedures and clinical trials. Diagnostic lab testing, x-rays, advanced studies and venipuncture. Cosmetic surgery, routine foot care, dental services, acne and varicose veins. Allergy testing and allergy injections. Speech, occupational and physical therapy, except under the outpatient rehabilitation rider. Pre-employment, pre-marital and routine physical examinations. Learning disorders and disabilities, developmental delays, mental or nervous disorders and sleep disorders. Tobacco cessation and substance use disorders. Obesity and weight reduction, including bariatric surgery and its complications. Eye examinations, eyeglasses and contact lenses for refractive errors, surgery to remove the need for glasses, treatment for cataracts, orthoptics and visual eye training. Hospice care, custodial care and home health care. Pregnancy and reproduction, except complications of pregnancy. War, riot or international armed conflict. A crime, felony or illegal act, or time imprisoned. Suicide or intentionally self-inflicted injury, sane or insane. Skydiving, scuba diving, hang or ultra light gliding, ballooning, bungee jumping, parakiting, riding an all-terrain vehicle, racing, sports for pay or profit and rodeo contests. Medical treatment, services and supplies received outside the United States.

  Hospice care, custodial care and home health care are excluded here. The same company’s Home Care Plus policy is built around home care, so if that is what you are after these are not interchangeable.

Issue ages

The documents state no issue age range in words. The premium table runs from issue age 18 to 89.

Renewability

Guaranteed renewable for life provided premiums are paid when due, subject to the policy termination provisions.

Pre-existing conditions

Pre-existing conditions are not covered unless the loss begins more than three months after the coverage effective date. A pre-existing condition is one the insured has been medically diagnosed with, treated by, sought advice from, or consulted with a physician about during the six months before the coverage effective date.

Financial strength

Rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best as of 13 March 2024 — the third highest of sixteen ratings, which is the part the letter on its own does not tell you. It is a view of the insurer’s ability to pay claims, not a comment on this policy, and it can be changed at any time.

Policy form

CLIHIPL217 NV. Form numbers and benefits vary by state.

Every benefit below is transcribed from ManhattanLife Hospital Indemnity Select brochure HIS-BR 0126, and from the application for hospital indemnity insurance AN7003AP. Benefits, amounts and riders vary by state; the policy issued to you governs.

• Hospital confinement, 18 to 64½ — the one day plan Included

  A daily cash benefit paid to you for observation or confinement. Below 64½ there is one base plan, a 1 day benefit period, with a daily benefit anywhere from $50 to $10,000, chosen in $50 steps — sized against the deductible or out-of-pocket maximum your own health plan leaves you to pay. Benefits fully restore 60 days after discharge.

  This is the half of the policy a Californian buys, because the 2026 brochure says it is the only half written there.

• Hospital confinement, 64½ to 89 — the three, six and ten day plans Included

  From 64½ the choices are 3, 6 or 10 day benefit periods, each with a daily benefit from $50 to $750 chosen in $50 steps, sized against the per-day inpatient co-pay a Medicare Advantage plan charges. Benefits fully restore 60 days after discharge.

  Not offered by Manhattan Life in California. The same policy form is two quite different purchases either side of 64½, which is the most important thing to understand before comparing it with anything else on this page.

• Short duration hospital stay Included

  If you are receiving care in hospital and are discharged between 12 and 23 hours, the 1 day plan pays 25% of the hospital confinement amount and every other benefit period pays 100% of the daily benefit shown on the policy schedule.

  The window was 12 to 24 hours in the 2024 edition of the brochure and is 12 to 23 in the 2026 one. If somebody has handed you the older brochure, this is one of the lines that moved.

• Emergency room or urgent care Included

  $150 when you are treated for an injury in an emergency room or an urgent care facility, up to 6 days a calendar year. No admission required.

• Ambulance Included

  $200 for each ground or air ambulance trip to or from a medical facility, up to 4 times a calendar year and 15 trips in a lifetime.

  In the base policy, not a rider — which is the opposite of how the other company on this page sells it.

• Mental health Included

  $175 a day for hospital confinement for a mental or nervous disorder, up to 7 days a calendar year.

  Paid in place of the hospital confinement benefit, not on top of it.

• First day hospital admission rider Optional rider

  $250, $500 or $750 on admission to hospital, on top of the daily confinement benefit, payable up to 6 times a calendar year.

  Not offered by Manhattan Life in California. Not available on the 1 day benefit plan, which the brochure states from the other end as not available under 64½. That is why it shows as unavailable in California: the 2026 brochure says the three, six and ten day plans are not written there, so the only plan a Californian can buy is the one this rider does not attach to. That is our reading of two carrier statements rather than a sentence the carrier wrote, so ask us to confirm it in writing. Six times a year is a materially different promise from once per confinement; compare it against the other company's lump sum rider.

• Skilled nursing facility rider Optional rider

  $100, $150, $200 or $250 a day in a skilled nursing facility. Option 1 covers days 1 through 50 and Option 2 covers days 21 through 100.

  Not available under age 40. The stay must begin within 30 days of a hospital confinement of at least three consecutive days — a skilled nursing benefit that never follows a hospital stay is not payable. The $250 level and the age 40 floor are both new in the 2026 edition of the brochure.

• Outpatient surgical procedure rider Optional rider

  $250, $500, $750, $1,000 or $1,500 a day when a surgical procedure is performed in an ambulatory surgical centre or an outpatient hospital facility, up to 2 times a calendar year.

  The brochure also lists a $1,250 level and the application has no check box for it. The application is the document you actually tick, so ask for that level in writing rather than assuming it can be selected. The $1,250 and $1,500 levels are both new in the 2026 edition.

Issue ages

18 to 89, as individual, individual and spouse, individual and children, or family cover. In Hawaii that is a spouse or reciprocal beneficiary and in Nevada a spouse or domestic partner. Guaranteed issue from 64½ to 70 — but the application adds a condition the brochure leaves out: you must be a first-time applicant for this product. Everybody else answers the health questions. In California the issue ages stop at 64½, because the plans sold from 64½ are not written there.

Underwriting

Guaranteed issue at 64½ to 70 for a first-time applicant. Otherwise seven knock-out health questions, any one of which excludes the person it applies to — HIV, current hospital, nursing facility or home health confinement, tests or surgery advised in the past 12 months and not yet done, help needed with activities of daily living, three or more hospital stays in 12 months, and named lung, liver, artery, neurological and psychiatric conditions in the past 12 months or cardiac, kidney, cancer, amputation and diabetes complications in the past 24. Prescription medication taken in the past 24 months is listed with its diagnosis. The application also asks whether everybody has been performing normal daily activities or actively at work at least 27 hours a week for 12 months, whether anyone was declined for health reasons in the past five years, and whether anyone is pregnant or adopting. One person can be excluded rather than the whole application declined.

Renewability

Guaranteed renewable for life, and the brochure states that rates do not increase as you age. Premium can be paid by bank draft, direct billing or payroll deduction where an employer list-bills it.

Pre-existing conditions

A pre-existing condition limitation applies — and it applies even on a guaranteed issue policy. The application says so in terms: pre-existing condition limitations apply without regard to the health questions. The brochure's “benefits available immediately” means there is no waiting period, which is a different thing. Neither consumer document we hold states how long the pre-existing period runs, so ask for your state's outline of coverage and read that clause before you sign rather than assuming it matches another company's.

Policy form

AN7003. Rider forms AN7003HA, AN7003OS, AN7003SN. Form numbers and benefits vary by state.