Critical Illness Cover – Do you need it

Features of critical illness insurance

Here are some features to note:

• These plans allow coverage against numerous major critical illnesses 
• Lump-sum payment is offered by the insurer to the policyholder for getting treatment of the diagnosed illness
• These plans also allow easy claim process as per the diagnosis report
• There is a waiting period in these plans and the insured can get coverage only after completing the waiting period.
• A part of the lump sum amount can also be used for loss of income caused due to the illness 

Advantages of critical illness insurance

Critical illness is a condition that might make one helpless and it may be difficult for the person to work. Have you thought what will happen to your family and to your own self if you are unable to earn your livelihood due to a critical illness? How will you take care of the medical expenses of the treatment? It’s quite frightening to think of such a situation. So, it is important to have a back-up to deal with such a situation.

Hence, it is extremely important to buy a plan against critical illnesses so that you can secure your future as well as the future of your family. With a critical illness plan, you can avail a lump sum amount if diagnosed with a critical illness covered under your plan. Besides, a critical illness health plan also allows the insured to avail tax benefits under section 80D of Income Tax Act, 1961.

How to choose your ideal Critical Illness Insurance Plan?

There are certain parameters to select a critical illness policy to suit your needs well as mentioned in the table below. You must check your requirement as per the mentioned parameters and their details to suit your needs.

Critical illness insurance vs health insurance

Below are some differences between a critical illness insurance policy and regular health insurance plan:

Top 5 critical illness health insurance policies

Here is a list of some of the best critical illness insurance policies offered by some of the best insurance companies in India:

Exclusions of critical illness insurance policy

Some exclusions include:

• The policy may not cover a critical illness that is diagnosed within the waiting period
• It may exclude coverage if the critically ill insured dies within 30 days of diagnosis 
• If the critical illness is the result of smoking, alcohol consumption or drugs, the policy will exclude it
• The policy also excludes critical illness caused because of congenital disorder
• If the critical illness is since birth or is pregnancy related, the plan will not cover it
• The plan excludes coverage of diseases due to HIV/AIDS
• Illness developed because of war, terrorism, military operations etc., are not covered
• Dental and cosmetic treatments are also not covered
• Infertility and reproduction related treatments are also excluded
• The policy doesn’t include hormone replacement treatment
• In most cases, it might exclude treatment outside India

Factors to take note of while opting for a critical insurance policy

Here are the important things to remember:

• Sum assured is an important element to consider while buying a critical illness plan. There are some illnesses which have more expensive treatment as compared to others. So, this factor is important to consider
• You must also ensure if you want to buy a standalone critical illness policy or a critical illness rider to support your health policy
• hAlso, make sure to check the sub-limits under your critical illness policy 
• Another thing that is very important to check is the inclusions and exclusions of the policy
• Age of the policyholder also matters while deciding the premium of the critical illness plan
• Also, you must check the maximum renewal age offered under the policy
• Lastly, waiting period of the policy is also important to check