Guide to purchasing the right one
Imagine a world where you're hit with a critical illness like cancer, heart attack or kidney failure. Not only are you dealing with the physical and emotional toll of the illness, but you're also facing mounting medical bills and potentially lost income that you would earn, had you been hale and hearty. That's where critical illness insurance comes in. It's a type of insurance that pays out a lump sum to help cover those expenses and ease the financial burden. On the other hand, Mediclaim is a health insurance that acts like a safety net for everyday medical expenses. It covers for hospital stays, surgeries, and other treatments, but doesn't cover for potentially lost income.
Rajeev has a critical illness policy that covers him for cancer. He is diagnosed with cancer and his policy pays out a lump sum of 50 Lakhs. He uses this money to pay for his medical treatments and to help cover his lost income while he is recovering.
Meanwhile, Jay has a Mediclaim policy. He is also diagnosed with cancer and his policy pays for his hospital stay, surgeries, and other medical treatments. He does not receive a lump sum of money from his policy, but instead has his medical expenses directly covered by his insurance company.
So, in short, Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a specific critical illness which not only provides for your family but also takes care of your hospital bills. On the other hand, a Mediclaim only pays for medical expenses.
Standalone vs with Term Insurance
Parameters | Critical Illness Rider With Term Plan | Standalone Critical Illness Policy |
---|---|---|
Coverage | Rider sum assured is linked with base policy sum assured | It offers high flexibility in respect of sum insured |
Renewal | No need to renew separately as it can be renewed along with term plan | It must be renewed annually or 5 years as per the policy you opt for |
Premium | Premium remains the same for the entire duration of the base policy and therefore tends to be cheaper | Premium changes with age and health condition of the insured in case you bought it from a general insurer. |
Ailments covered | 8-10 ailments are covered, may vary with the insurer | It covers more than 20 ailments |
Medical test | No medical test is required if it is bought from the same term insurance provider. | A medical test is required |
Difference of premium:
10 lakhs | Critical Illness with Term | Standalone |
---|---|---|
Yearly | ₹ 13,414 | ₹ 10,162 |
Indeed, there is never quite enough health insurance. No matter how much thinking and careful planning you put in place, health issues are so unexpected that you are still susceptible to numerous illnesses, not accidents. Therefore, it is safe to have appropriate health insurance coverage to give you financial security from such disorders. However, a basic health insurance plan might not be enough to ensure that you have enough medical coverage because medical inflation is continually rising. This is why purchasing critical illness insurance is a good idea. Here are some arguments in favour of selecting a comprehensive health insurance program.
Coverage Against Critical Illnesses
You may increase the coverage offered by your current health insurance policy by purchasing a critical illness cover. Consequently, you will be adequately protected financially against common and serious illnesses, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, renal failure, etc.
The Security of Your Savings
If you don't have a critical illness policy, you will be responsible for paying the substantial medical expenditures associated with the necessary treatment for acute diseases. This would compel you to use your savings or turn to debt, neither of which are wise choices for your future financial security.
Your funds are sacred. Therefore you must take precautions to prevent them from depleting the economic effects of receiving a critical illness diagnosis. A critical illness insurance policy can assist you in doing this.
When you get critical illness insurance, you will have access to numerous significant benefits, some of which have already been mentioned.
Financial Support When You're In Need: A critical illness plan is a trusted friend when you need it most. A critical disease diagnosis can result in severe medical harm, financial problems, and mental distress.
When the cost of your medical care is accompanied by a loss or decrease in your monthly income, it may be challenging to make ends meet, let alone be able to pay your medical bills. In such a case, a critical illness health insurance plan may greatly assist, thanks to the Lump-sum payoff of the guaranteed money.
Wide Range of Critical Illnesses is Included: We provide critical illness insurance policies in India that cover various severe conditions, such as cancer, renal failure, blindness, and paralysis. You, therefore, have comprehensive coverage against various serious illnesses with only one plan. Instead of shelling out a sizable sum of money for the cost of treating a critical illness, you may benefit from the sum insured under our critical illness plan.
Serves as a Replacement for Your Lost Income: Any individual would be horrified to learn they had a severe illness, but if you are the sole provider of money for your family, it may be challenging. The potential of losing your ability to work and earn throughout the ensuing therapy might significantly impact your family's finances.
But let's say you have a critical illness rider on your life insurance or critical illness insurance policy. In that case, you may be confident that you will get a benefit payment that will replace your lost source of income.
Offers Support in Addition to Your Health Insurance Plan: A critical illness health insurance plan gives you additional financial support in addition to your standard health insurance policy. Additionally, it compensates for the absence of critical sickness coverage. As a result, if you are diagnosed with severe disease, you will be better equipped to pay the associated medical and other costs.
Affordable Premiums: It is false to say that most people cannot afford critical illness insurance coverage. In actuality, such coverage is offered for a reasonable and economical price far lower than the value of the benefits guaranteed under the plan. Choosing a critical illness health insurance plan is, thus, a wise choice.
Tax Benefits: A critical illness plan provides you with enough coverage against several critical diseases and several tax advantages for the premiums you pay for the plan. According to the Income Tax Act of Section 80D,1961, you may deduct up to $25,000 from your taxable income for payments paid for health insurance premiums. Senior persons are eligible for a discount of 50000.
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You must have specific paperwork on hand if you are submitting a critical illness insurance claim. Here is a list of the paperwork required to submit such a claim.
First, you must send us a completed and signed health insurance claim form. You may now complete and submit this form online here. Here, you can keep tabs on the status of your claim. Within 30 days after the diagnosis of a critical disease covered by your critical care insurance coverage, please notify us and complete this form.
Other required paperwork: Upon receiving your necessary insurance policy claim form, we will ask you, or whoever is submitting the claim on your behalf, to provide the required paperwork, which should include the following:
Your complete medical history, case file, investigation findings, treatment records, and hospital discharge certificate, among other pertinent documents.
A thorough and precise diagnostic of the treatment condition for which the claim is being made.
Whatever further paperwork that our claims department deems essential for the claims procedure
Within 15 days following your hospital discharge or end of treatment, we will determine if the details of your critical illness insurance plan claim are accurate. We will pay the accepted claim within 30 days of receiving the required documentation, provided that we are satisfied with your critical illness insurance claim and the supporting papers.
Before choosing Critical insurance coverage, you must consider a few key elements. Here are a few of these elements:
Sum Assured: Make sure your critical illness plan has sufficient coverage by your needs for health insurance. This is only achievable if you are clear about how much critical illness health insurance you require and what the policy's amount assured should be.
The Nature of the Plan: In India, there are two ways to get critical illness insurance: a stand-alone policy or an add-on to an existing life insurance or health insurance policy. As a result, you must choose the type of critical illness insurance you desire. Even though the two critical illness lists are comparable, a solo critical illness policy often offers more coverage than a critical illness rider.
Sub-Limits: It is crucial to review the sub-limits in your critical illness plan for various charges. For procedures and diagnostic tests, there are often lower limitations. Knowing these sub-limits is essential to understanding how accurate coverage you have for each expenditure head.
Inclusions and Exclusions: You wouldn't go into a vegetarian restaurant and place an order for non-vegetarian cuisine, right? Just like it is essential to know what cuisine a restaurant you are visiting serves, it is crucial to understand what your health insurance for critical illness covers and what it does not. As a result, you must carefully and attentively study the policy wordings. The list of essential diseases for insurance must be carefully read.
Age: Due to their differing health risks, critical illness plans may feature different coverages and rates for persons of different ages. Because of this, older insurance policies offer more coverage and higher premiums than plans for relatively young individuals. Your age group and your needs for health insurance will determine which critical illness insurance is appropriate for you.
Maximum Renewal Age: Check this ceiling when choosing a plan because some critical illness insurance policies include a maximum age for renewals cap. Selecting a plan with lifetime renewals is advised.
Waiting Period: A critical illness plan has a waiting period attached to it. Therefore you cannot use the plan's benefits until the waiting period has passed. This is why you must verify the waiting period before acquiring a plan.
Our team is happy to provide guidance and answer any questions you might have.
And the best part? Our assistance is completely free and with no obligations to purchase the insurance. Let us help you navigate the insurance landscape.