Most critical illness policies offer lifelong renewability. There is no maximum ceasing age, hence one can buy the policy from 8 years to 65 years depending upon the insurer.
Critical Illness insurance offers flexible payment options upon diagnosis, such as the lump-sum payment of sum insured or lump-sum payment plus 10% of sum insured paid each year for the subsequent 5 years.
The critical illness insurance premium is cheap as compared to health insurance. This is because the insurance will only trigger upon the diagnosis of critical ailments which are covered by the policy.
The premium paid for the critical illness insurance policy is tax deductible upto Rs.15000 under section 80D of the Income Tax Act. Also, the payout under the policy will be tax-free.
Critical illness insurance, also known as critical illness policy cover, is an insurance product in which the insurer is contracted to typically make a lump sum cash payment if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the dreaded diseases on a pre-determined list as part of an insurance policy. Life threatening diseases like renal failure, heart attack, cancer, organ transplants, etc. are covered under critical illness policy.
Through critical illness rider an insurance policyholder can avail an additional coverage in exchange of additional premium. The policy may also be structured to provide regular payouts to the policyholder undergoing a surgical procedure, for example, having a heart bypass operation. The survival period - The policy may require the policyholder to survive a minimum number of days from when the illness was first diagnosed. The period varies from company to company, 14 days being most typical survival period used.
Security against Healthcare inflation
Critical illnesses do not only put strain on the body, but on the finances as well. With progress in the medical infrastructure, the medical cost is increasing too. It’s therefore important to be prepared for it even when there’s a faint possibility of a diagnosis.
Cover against Critical Illness
Critical illness insurance covers a specified list of life-threatening ailments. It is totally worth it, if you have a family history of these ailments. Affordable premiums, you can help provide yourself with peace of mind and financial protection if an emergency were to strike.
It can be taken to seek financial security in the event of an unexpected, serious, and extended illness affects you. With medical inflation on the rise, having a critical illness policy is necessary to safeguard against inflated hospitalisation charges.
Key Features:
Critical Illness policy generally contains the following significant features:
Following are some key factors considerations that you should keep in mind:
A critical illness insurance plan can be purchased at a comparatively lower premium than a regular health insurance policy (Individual or Family Floater). Reason being, where a typical health plan covers multiple diseases, a critical illness insurance plan is only for the specific medical conditions.
A critical illness insurance policy offers coverage against life-threatening critical diseases like renal failure, heart attack, cancer, organ transplants, coma, etc. These policies offer one-time lump-sum coverage against the exorbitant cost associated with treating these diseases.
Experts having a good inside knowledge of insurance point out that there are alternative forms of coverage without all these restrictions of critical illness policy. For example,
In addition to providing you a financial relief during health emergencies, the policy also offers tax benefits. Amount paid against policy premium for critical illness insurance policy is deductible under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act of 1961. Below are the tax benefits basis the age:
Like any other insurance policy, you need to take into account a number of factors when choosing the right insurance plan for critical illness. Below checklist can help you purchase the best critical illness insurance in India:
Coverage - Critical Illness policy covers hospitalization against over 32 life-threatening critical illnesses. A health insurance covers different types of chronic diseases requiring standard hospitalization and treatment expenses.
Benefits - Critical Illness policy provides benefits of Pre and post-hospitalization, organ donor cover, dialysis cover, psychiatric counselling, etc. Health Insurance only covers In-patient hospitalization, pre and post-hospitalization, daycare treatments, ICU charges, etc.
Survival Period - Critical Illness policy requires the insured person to survive for a period, of say 30 days after the first diagnosis of the illness. The time frame may vary from one insurer to another. There is no survival period in a health insurance.
Waiting Period - For Critical illness Insurance, there is a 90 days initial waiting period (48 months for pre-existing diseases). A health insurance policyholder has a 30 days initial waiting period and 48 months for pre-existing diseases.
Policy Period - As opposed to Critical Illness Insurance, which are long-term policy, Health insurance can be annual or long-term.
Not all policies are created equal, so it is important to do a comparative analysis of different critical illness policies from different insurers. It is important to find one that meets your medical needs and budget. List of some common critical diseases against which a critical illness policy usually provides coverage are mentioned below:
| Cancer (up to a specified stage) | Major burns |
| Heart attack | Brain surgery |
| Stroke | Blindness |
| Kidney failure | Apallic syndrome |
| Coma | Good pasture’s syndrome |
| Organ transplant | Open heart replacement or repair of heart valve |
| Bone marrow transplant | Benign brain tumour |
| Loss of speech | Open chest CABG |
| Deafness | Alzheimer's disease |
| Paralysis | Primary Parkinson's disease |
Some other important benefits included in the plan:
Critical illness insurance coverage will not cover if your medical condition isn't serious. There are a few situations (listed below), where critical illness insurance doesn't provide any support.
To avoid disappointed with their insurance plan because of misinformation about the policy coverage limits, it is advisable for policy buyers to carefully go through the exclusions of policy plan.
SecureNow is an independent online broker for critical illness cover – which means we're here to help you make the right decisions when protecting yourself and your family in case of illness. When you use our service online, offline or over the phone, you get:
SecureNow, offers a comprehensive and cost-effective critical illness insurance plan that can be very helpful in case of an unlikely health emergency. It scrutinize the key points of Critical Illness Insurance Plan and suggest best Critical Illness Policy for you. Though SecureNow, a critical illness insurance plan can be purchased at a comparatively lower premium. With these affordable rates, you can help provide yourself, peace of mind and financial protection if an emergency were to strike.
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