CHICAGO, Sept. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bankers Life and Casualty Company, a national life and health insurer, today announced a new hospital indemnity insurance plan to its portfolio of supplemental health insurance products.

Hospital Indemnity Insurancefrom Bankers Life provides cash benefits for hospitalization due to accidental injury or sickness. The benefits paid can help cover out-of-pocket expenses typically not covered by private health insurance or Medicare, including deductibles and copays.

The product can be paired with any major individual or employer-sponsored health plan and pays fixed dollar cash benefits directly to the policyholder. It is targeted at individuals and families who desire to protect their savings against high healthcare costs.

"Nearly 35 million people are admitted to U.S. hospitals each year and the average cost of a hospital stay is more than $10,000," said Scott Goldberg, president of Bankers Life. "With health insurance coverage trending toward higher deductibles and copayments, consumers can face steep out-of-pocket costs when admitted to an emergency room or confined to a hospital stay. Our new Hospital Indemnity Insurance offers a lump-sum cash benefit so that our policyholders can focus on their health and not on any related expenses."

The benefits of Hospital Indemnity Insurance include:

• Guaranteed renewability for life as long as the required premiums are paid on time.
• Benefits paid directly to the customer and not a doctor or hospital
• No restrictions on how benefit payments are used

"Moreover, it offers one of the highest per-day benefit options for both the Daily Hospital Confinement Benefit and the Intensive Care Unit Confinement Benefit. Additionally, this is one of the few products in the marketplace that offers benefit options for both Emergency Room visits and Ambulance trips," added Goldberg.

Hospital Indemnity Insurance is currently available through Bankers Life insurance agents in 15 states: Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri,North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia, with availability in other states pending. The issue age is 18 to 85 and policy benefits may vary by state.

About Bankers Life

Bankers Life focuses on the insurance needs of middle-income Americans who are near or in retirement. The Bankers Life brand is a part of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO), whose companies provide insurance solutions that help protect the health and retirement needs of working Americans and retirees. There are more than 5,000 Bankers Life insurance agents at over 300 offices across the country. To learn more, visit BankersLife.com.