- Critical illnesses are as serious as they sound
- Offers lump sum payment to the insured on diagnosis
- The number of critical illnesses covered differs from insurer to insurer
What is a critical illness?
Diseases that can leave a patient’s body permanently or semi-permanently damaged compelling them to be financially, emotionally, and physically dependent for the rest of their lives fall under critical illness.
What are the critical illnesses covered by an insurer?
The critical illnesses covered under the policy vary from insurer to insurer. For instance, Exide Life Sanjeevani plan covers all prevalent cardiovascular and cancer-related conditions for all levels of severities. It provides a lump sum upon diagnosis of the condition. It also provides double claim benefit which means that you can claim for the covered conditions even if you have filed a claim under another policy. This benefit is irrespective of the actual treatment cost.
Who should buy critical illness cover and why?
This policy is ideal for every working individual. Since health conditions may get affected due to any unprecedented reason and medical expenses can wipe out life-long savings.
What are the points to be considered while buying Critical Illness Insurance?
- Check for diseases covered by the policy
As types of diseases covered differ from company to company, it is advisable to conduct a self-assessment to choose a plan suitable to your health-care needs. Take stock of your hereditary health profile, medical history, and your lifestyle to gain an idea about the type of ailments to which you might be vulnerable.
- Consider your present financial situation
If you have considerable financial strength to tackle an unexpected medical issue, you can opt for smaller coverage from your critical illness policy. However, you must keep in mind that health care costs are rising at an unprecedented rate, therefore solely depending on savings might irreversibly hurt your finances.
- Choose adequate cover size
You should consider the cost of the specific ailment for which you are buying the policy, to decide upon the optimum cover size. For example, heart and cancer related conditions are on a rise these days. Although treatments of these ailments are available, they tend to be very costly. A normal health insurance cover cannot help meet the cost incurred in its treatment. So opt for a fixed benefit health insurance plan that provides adequate cover for the treatment of such critical illnesses.
- Exclusions
It is also important to take a note of what is not covered under your critical illness insurance policy. After the policy is bought there is a waiting period during which no claims can be made. This waiting period differs from insurer to insurer, so it is advisable to conduct a comparative study for the same.
- Rider vs Standalone
A critical insurance policy can be bought as a rider or add-on to you existing insurance policy or as a standalone product.
A standalone critical illness plan covers specific critical illnesses. It provides lump sum upon diagnosis of different severities of the covered critical illness.
While buying the critical illness policy, do not consider price as the sole criteria to decide the insurance plan, consider factors like service quality of the insurer, claim settlement ratio, number of ailments covered, additional benefits, etc.
