Should I Buy A Critical Illness Plan?

Health insurance plans are an extremely vital part of an individual’s investment. They should be bought wisely so that they bear the fruits when needed at times of an emergency. To choose the best suitable health insurance plan for yourself and your loved ones, you must research enough and compare plans of different insurance companies. Your choice of a health insurance plan should depend on several factors like a financial budget, pre-existing diseases, age, and many more. 

If an individual is suffering from any critical disorder then it is usually advisable for that person to not go for regular health insurance policies as such policies may not suffice the expenses and requirements of the medical treatments incurred during the hospitalization of chronic disease. For such people, health insurance companies have rolled out specific plans which are commonly known as critical illness health insurance plans. Under these plans, the sum assured is given as a lump sum to the policyholder when the claim is made. You can either add a critical illness plan to your existing health insurance plan as an add-on cover or you can simply purchase it as a separate policy. 

About Critical Illness Health Insurance Policy 

A critical illness health insurance plan provides its policyholders with the lump sum assured for the diagnosis and also covers other expenses like paying off debts, replacement of lost income, etc., to compensate for the monetary loss suffered by the policyholder. The sum assured under such plans is usually higher when compared to other standard health insurance plans. You can either add a critical illness plan as a top-up cover to your existing health insurance policy or you can buy it separately to avail of its benefits. Let us look at some of the prominent features of a critical illness health insurance plan: 

• Up to 36 critical disorders are covered under a critical illness plan including cancer, kidney failure, heart disease, etc. 
• For treatments of these illnesses lump sum amount of the sum assured under the policy is provided. 
• Based on the patient’s diagnosis report, the critical illness policy can be claimed easily. 
• The coverage under the policy is provided only after the completion of the waiting period specified by the insurer. 
• A part of the sum assured under the policy can be used to replace the lost income due to the treatment of the critical disorder. 

Benefits of Critical Illness Health Insurance Policy

Following are the benefits that can be availed from a critical illness health insurance policy: 

• This policy not only covers your medical expenses but also takes care of your household expenses which can get affected due to the treatment of critical disease. 
• Under section 80D of the Income Tax Act, the policyholder is eligible for benefits like tax deduction on the premium payments of the critical illness health insurance policy. 
• Hospitalization is not a necessary condition under this plan to avail of the benefits. Claims can be made on the basis of a diagnostic report. 
• Critical illness plans come with a shorter waiting period of around 3 months which implies that the policyholder can use the coverage at the earliest. 
• It provides a sense of peace in the minds of the policyholders as a higher sum assured under such health insurance covers take care of the expensive treatments. 
• The sum assured under the policy is provided for treatments taken in India or in any other country. On the mere basis of diagnosis reports, the lump sum can be given to the customers. 
• You can include add-on covers to your policy like a wellness coach, etc. 

Conclusion 

You must purchase a critical illness health insurance plan if you are suffering from a critical or chronic disease like cancer, kidney failure, heart disease, etc. You must carefully read the policy-related documents to make sure that the critical illness that you require to be covered has been included or not. 

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Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.