No matter how healthy a lifestyle you lead, in this fast-paced modern life, your health is exposed to various risks. The growing pollution and food adulteration result in poor health despite maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Having said that, no one can live a 100 percentdisease-free life. Therefore, it is wise to stay prepared for the unforeseen health emergencies that might arise in the future.
What’s Critical Illness Insurance Plan?
A critical illness (CI) insurance plan provides insurance coverage for critical illnesses such as heart attack, kidney failure, stroke, cancer, coronary artery disease requiring surgery, major organ transplant, paralysis etc. While a basic health plan provides basic health insurance coverage, a critical illness insurance policy in india provides enhanced insurance coverage in case an insured develops a critical illness.
Before you opt for a CI plan, make sure you compare various plans so that you can buy the plan that fulfils your insurance expectations.
Basics of a Critical Illness Insurance Plan
You should not confuse a CI insurance policy with a basic health insurance plan. They both serve different purposes. Check out basics a CI plan:
- At the time of detection of a covered critical illness, the CI insurance plan provides a lump sum that can be used to take care of all the treatment-related
- CI insurance is a specialized health insurance which is formulated to provide insurance coverage against a wide range of critical illness.
- CI insurance policy provides a pre-decided lump sum payment upon the diagnosis of a covered illness. No matter what the actual cost of treatment is, the insured will receive the pre-determined amount as the policy benefit.
How to Choose the Best Critical Illness Plan?
In order to choose the best CI insurance plan, you need to compare and analyze the following factors:
- Cover Provided by Critical Illness Insurance
CI plans are formulated to provide insurance coverage to meet the treatment-related expenses of the insured. CI insurance attracts lower premium as compared to a basic health insurance plan.
While a health plan premium with 5 Lakh sum assured costs Rs. 6 thousand annually, the premium for a CI plan with the same cover is Rs. 1 thousand and 5 hundred only.
The number of critical ailments covered in a policy varies insurance provider per insurance provider. While ICICI Prudential’s CI plan offers coverage against 35 illnesses, Bharti AXA offers coverage against 20 illnesses and Aviva’s’ CI plan offers coverage against 12 illnesses.
- Critical Illness Insurance Premium
In order to decide the extent of coverage in a CI plan, first, you need to analyze your insurance expectations. Once you know your insurance expectations, you can shortlist the plans that fulfil your insurance expectations. If your insurance expectations are basic, then a basic plan can cost you a lower premium as compared to a comprehensive CI plan.
Note- While analyzing your insurance expectations, always consider various aspects such as treatment expenses, recurring expenses etc.
- Survival Period and Waiting Period of the critical illness insurance
The survival period of critical illness insuranceplans is different for different insurance plans. It may vary from 0 to 30 days. The policyholder has to survive 30 days post detection of covered critical illness only then he/she is entitled to receive the CI insurance benefits.
Apart from that, there is a waiting period of up to 90 daysafter the inception of the insurance policy.
It means that any claims filed during the waiting period would not be entertained by the insurance provider. In order to avail the benefits of the CI insurance, the insured must survive the survival period. After the completion of the waiting period and survival period, he/she can file the claim.
- Where to Purchase a CI Insurance Plan
A critical illness plan is offered as a standalone plan as well as an add-on rider. While the standalone plan offers comprehensive insurance coverage, add-on rider offers basic insurance coverage.
In case you have a family history of critical illness, you must opt for a comprehensive critical illness plan. It will protect you against treatment-related medical expenses.
- Tax Benefits
A critical illness policyholder can avail tax benefits for the premium as per Section 80D of Income Tax Act, 1961.
In a Nutshell
A basic health insurance plan won’t provide sufficient insurance coverage in case the insured develops critical illness. In order to stay financially secure against treatment-related expenses of critical illness, opting for a CI plan is a must.
Medical inflation has made quality treatment inaccessible for middle-class people. That’s why insurance experts recommend buying a critical illness plan so that one doesn’t have to face a financial crunch in case he/she develops a critical illness.
