Why is Critical Illness Insurance Essential

What is critical illness?

Critical illness means life threatening disease like Cancer, Kidney failure, Major Organ Transplantation, Paralysis, Coma, etc. Critical Illness is an insurance product in which the insurer has to make a lump sum cash payment if the policyholder is diagnosed with any of the specified illnesses.

Why do I need Critical Illness?

·         Survival benefit: If the insured person suffers from certain specific critical conditions then the insurance company provides a lump sum, tax free payment to a policy holder. The policy holder needs to survive a minimum number of days from when the illness was first diagnosed which can also be called as Survival period.

·         Cost of critical illness is very high: Cost of critical illness is very high. There might be possibility that cash to pay for medical treatments are not covered by your health plans. So you might need Critical Illness insurance policy to cover all the expenses related to the listed critical diseases.

·         Financial downfall: Cost of critical illness is pretty high. Affording those treatments is not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s not necessary that your health insurance policy might support for such critical illness as the treatment cost is much higher.

·         Lump sum benefit: The insurance company makes a lump sum cash payment if the policy holder is diagnosed with one of the specified illnesses on a pre determined list.

Who needs Critical Illness Insurance?

A critical illness policy is beneficial for those who do not want to take chances with certain health conditions, especially if they have a medical history. Further, primary breadwinners who cannot afford to take a hit on finances from a critical illness usually prefer to take this policy. These plans are also helpful for those who do not have sufficient savings and/or do not have an employee benefits package that covers prolonged sick leave.

Critical insurance health policies can be availed by Indian citizens aged over 18 years and less than 65 years. Applicants who are over 45 years old may have to go through mandatory pre-policy medical checkups.

Additionally, family members (direct relations like parents, children, siblings, and spouse) can also get coverage under a single plan, as specified in the policy. If more than one person is covered under a single critical illness policy, each member qualifies to get cover once during the policy tenure.