Diagnosis of critical illness can disrupt both your mental and financial condition. You are not only uncertain about your life but also worried about the cost of expensive medical treatments.
In situations like this, a critical illness insurance plan comes to the rescue and helps you manage these expenses. Additionally, this blog will highlight the key features and benefits of these critical illness health insurance policies, which are often considered part of the Best health insurance in India for comprehensive protection.
What are the Key Features of a Critical Illness Plan?
Here, we will discuss the key critical illness plan features:
- Coverage for Major Illnesses
A critical illness health insurance plan covers a wide spectrum of life-threatening diseases, such as kidney failure, heart attacks, cancer, and stroke. Individual plans may have a list of critical illnesses that they cover.
- Lump Sum Payout
The insurers typically provide a lump sum benefit for the extensive treatments upon diagnosis of a critical illness for the first time. You can use this amount for all the condition-related treatments, reducing financial burden during any of these health crises.
- Waiting Period
A critical illness plan comes with a waiting period of up to 90 days. Thus, you cannot file a claim unless you have served this particular period. However, the waiting period of critical illness plans may vary from insurer to insurer.
- Survival Period
You will need to serve a 30-day survival period if you purchase a critical illness plan. According to the clause of the survival period, you can qualify to get the claim after you serve this period after being diagnosed with a critical illness.
- Single Claim Policy
These types of plans allow you to file only one claim. At first, your insurer will pay the entire sum insured after your first claim. Moreover, your policy will cease to exist after they have paid you the coverage amount.
- Coverage Beyond Treatment Expenses
You can utilise this amount to manage expenses beyond medical treatment, such as day-to-day expenses, loan repayment, or children’s education. This allows us to focus solely on the recovery approaches, as it reduces your financial burden.
- No Coverage for Pre-Existing Diseases
Many standard critical illness plans do not cover any pre-existing diseases or congenital conditions. So always read the policy documents if you are planning to buy a critical illness plan for treating pre-existing diseases.
- Hassle-Free Claims
Claim filing for a critical illness plan is totally hassle-free, as there is a minimal requirement of documents to file the claim. You just need to submit basic documents, like doctor’s prescriptions and diagnostic reports, for the verification process.
What are the Benefits of a Critical Illness Plan?
Key benefits of a critical illness plan include:
- Financial Security
These plans provide an extended financial support to you and your family upon diagnosis of any critical illness. Thus, you can easily go for immediate treatments or medications in case of emergencies or critical situations.
- Makes Expensive Treatments Affordable
Treatments related to cancer, stroke, or heart attack are expensive, and without any insurance, it is almost impossible to receive any treatment. Critical illness plans ensure you get quality treatment and medications without thinking about the expenses.
- Pocket-Friendly Premiums
A critical illness plan’s premium is extremely affordable, despite the high coverage option. This may not be possible in case you purchase a regular medical insurance plan with a high coverage option.
- Tax Benefits
The premiums you are paying for these plans are eligible for tax deductions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. You can easily claim Rs. 50,000 for your senior citizen parents.
- Complements Existing Insurance
A critical illness plan is an excellent addition to a standard health insurance policy. Thus, it enables the policyholder to fill the gap in coverage that regular plans may not address, especially for long-term care and non-hospitalisation expenses.
Final Words
A critical illness plan is a crucial component of a comprehensive financial and health protection strategy. With the rise in incidence of lifestyle diseases and expensive treatments of critical illnesses, it is becoming difficult to afford quality treatment, managing financial stability. Thus, it is recommended to purchase these plans at an early age to benefit from lower premiums and ensure protection for your family.
