Five Most Commonly Asked Questions on Critical Illness Answered

In the present era, it finds tough for people to be in a good health. There are individuals who feel themselves fit & healthy also get ill. It is always good to do routine exercise and take the proper care of your health. However, health is not steady and as your age advances, you may fall sick to minor or severe health issues.

When you go for medical treatment of your illness/disease contracted, apart from recovering out of the adverse medical condition, you are also worried about paying huge medical bills that may flush out a major portion of your entire savings.

Owing to high-stress jobs, minimal physical activity, deteriorating environment, consumption of junk food, smoking, etc. are some of the key reasons that lead to increasing trend of critical illnesses. If, you fall prey to critical illness, the cost of medical care in India is tough to afford. Benefits of a Critical Illness Policy such as Cardiovascular and Kidney diseases cost around 4 Lacs, cancer costs 10 Lacs, lung and liver diseases cost around 20 Lacs. These mammoth figures are enough to understand the medical cost that may incur for treatment of a critical illness.

It is thus essential to get a critical illness health insurance policy that provides a financial cover against huge medical cost arising on treatment of any critical illness. There are tailor-made critical insurance plans, which will take care of you/your family’s healthcare needs. It is really helpful for those who want to remain financially safe, if such a medical emergency strikes in the future.

Before you go to buy a critical insurance policy, it is essential to get your doubts cleared with the Questions on Critical Illness

Is there a need to Buy a Critical Illness Policy?

The risk of occurrence of a critical illness can never be neglected at all. You can reduce it to an extent by leading a healthy lifestyle and monitoring your health condition regularly. A healthy lifestyle, such as going for regular exercise, taking fruits and veggies, avoid smoking and drinking alcohol can help you keep away from the scourge of critical illness, but a critical illness may strike anyone. So, to be on the safe side, you should get a critical illness cover.

A critical illness cover is available in a range of Rs 10 Lacs to Rs 25 Lacs, which will ensure that your treatment cost is completely covered.

What is the coverage available under a critical illness policy?

A critical illness insurance policy provides cover for the listed critical illness. Questions on Critical Illness that The critical illness policies pay a fixed sum that helps to take care of treatment costs and convalescence expenses. Most of the insurers only settle claims on diagnosis of only one critical illness occurred during the lifetime of the insured.

Under a Questions on Critical Illness insurance policy, you will get coverage for 8 to 20 major critical illnesses or more, depending on the policy you have chosen. Typically, the critical illnesses which are covered include cancer, heart attack, stroke, coronary artery bypass surgery, heart valve replacement, major organ transplant, kidney failure.

Whether I need to buy a critical illness insurance policy if I already have a health cover?

A basic health insurance policy will provide cover for the hospital bill, pre & post hospitalization expenses, however it may not be enough to cover the treatment cost incurred for a critical illness.

On the other hand, a critical illness policy helps you to save your finances in case of critical illness treatment. It pays the sum assured as a lump sum, in the event of diagnosis of any one of the listed critical illnesses that you can use in paying the medical treatment bills plus convalescence expenses.

Whether I need to buy a standalone critical illness policy or as a rider to the existing health insurance policy?

A critical illness cover is available as a rider or as a separate policy. A standalone policy provides a wider coverage in terms of sum insured. It provides more coverage for critical illnesses, when compared to a critical illness rider. A standalone critical illness plan remains valid even if your health cover lapses. Some standalone policies have a multi-claim option that enables a policyholder to file multiple claims during the policy term, subject to conditions.

It is thus advisable to buy a separate critical illness policy and get the complete coverage against critical illness.

What is not covered under a critical illness policy?

The exclusions of the policy may differ from one insurer to another. Following are the common health conditions which are not covered under a critical illness policy.

• Self-inflicted Injuries
• HIV, AIDS, or other STDs
• Any congenital conditions
• Pre-existing condition
• Nuclear, biological or chemical contamination
• Any form of war, invasion, civil war, rebellion
• Mental or functional disorder, etc.

Conclusion

Buying a critical insurance policy pays the full sum assured as a lump sum upon diagnosis of one of the covered critical illnesses. It provides a financial protection against medical expenses incurred in case of treatment of a critical illness. It is thus advisable to choose the best critical insurance plan by comparing plans from different insurers, so you can get the absolute coverage for critical illnesses.