Policyholder Protection

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The Illinois Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association is a non-profit legal entity that provides limited protection for the HMO, life, health, annuity, and unallocated annuity policies or contracts owned by Illinois residents if their insurance company becomes insolvent and is ordered liquidated by a court.

The protection provided by the Illinois GA is based on Illinois law and on the language of the insolvent company’s policies at the time of the insolvency.

The basic protections provided by the Illinois GA for the policyholders of a member insurer which is found to be insolvent are:

Life Insurance
- $300,000 in death benefits
- $100,000 in cash surrender or withdrawal values

Health Insurance
- $500,000 in health benefit plan benefits*
- $300,000 in disability insurance benefits
- $300,000 in long-term care insurance benefits
- $100,000 in other types of health insurance benefits

Annuities
- $250,000 in withdrawal and cash values

*The maximum amount of protection for each individual, regardless of the number of policies or contracts, is $300,000 except special rules apply with regard to health benefit plan benefits for which the maximum amount of protection is $500,000

If you are not an Illinois resident, the guaranty association of the state where you live at the time a company is ordered liquidated may provide you with coverage, unless the insurance company is not licensed in your state. If the insurance company is not licensed in the state where you live at the time the liquidation is ordered, then the guaranty association of the state where the company is based may provide you with coverage. For the contact information for another guaranty association, choose the specific state guaranty association you need.

The Illinois GA does not sell insurance policies. If you have an active insurance policy and need contact information for your existing insurance company, please contact the Illinois Department of Insurance at 1-217-782-4515.

For more information about the Association please review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of this website.