How Critical Illness Insurance Saves You From Paying Huge Bills

There is no truer adage than ‘Nothing is permanent except change’. Life really does change in the blink of an eye, and sometimes, the change is so immense that it leaves you reeling. You might coast along secure in the knowledge that you have a comfortable income, a family provided for and bright job prospects. Then the economy tanks, your health suffers tremendously and you are rendered without an active income. Meanwhile, you or a family member are diagnosed with a serious illness that will potentially wipe out all your savings and investments.

At this point, one of two things will happen: You might risk losing your carefully-cultivated zone of comfort, or you can pay for the treatment using the critical illness insurance policy you had the foresight to buy. Which one is your story?

You may already have health insurance, but you still need critical illness insurance.

Most people who have a regular health insurance plans in India hesitate to buy additional coverage for critical illnesses. They reason that the coverage from their health plan will be sufficient for any future eventualities. But there is a fundamental problem with this approach: the coverage might be sufficient to cover hospitalisation and treatment for other illnesses and surgeries, but critical illnesses comprise a different kettle of fish altogether! Compare the treatment costs for an illness like cancer or cardiac disease with surgery costs for gall bladder removal, for example. There is a big difference in the costs of the two, and your income and savings can take a serious hit if you try to treat a serious illness without adequate health coverage. Even if you have a health insurance plan to your name, do invest in a critical illness insurance policy to err on the side of caution.

It pays the high bills of treating serious illnesses.

Critical illnesses require long-drawn and expensive treatment, comprising daily expensive medication, doctor visits, hospital stays, intermittent tests and procedures, minor and major surgeries, and so on. Many a house has become bankrupt trying to finance these expensive treatments. Don’t be naïve about securing yourself and your loved ones against critical diseases – buy a critical illness plan today. Also, the critical illness payout is significantly higher among all health plans in India. It may be upwards of Rs 15 lakh or Rs 20 lakh when taken from leading insurers.

It pays a lump sum amount upon diagnosis.

A major benefit of critical illness insurance in India is that the plan pays the assured benefit immediately upon diagnosis of the listed critical illness. Note that we say ‘listed’ illness – this means that you can get coverage only against those illnesses included under the plan coverage, and not those outside it. But this feature helps you take timely treatment in the best of healthcare facilities in India, instead of waiting to gather the requisite funds and defer treatment till then. Serious illnesses are often detected in the late stages, at which point they progress rapidly. Any delays in treatment results in the disease progressing even more rapidly, and sometimes, going beyond the realm of treatment. When you receive the plan payout upon getting the illness diagnosed, it helps you and your doctor plan the treatment ahead in a timely, structured fashion.

It is not expensive to purchase.

Another myth associated with critical illness policies is that they are expensive to purchase. People hesitate to buy the plan because they believe that they will have to pay high premiums for the plan every year. However, this is simply not true. This category of health insurance is quite affordable, especially since leading insurance providers like ManipalCigna Health Insurance have these plans. This makes the pricing quite competitive. You can compare the premiums and plan features across leading insurance providers in India to find the policy that best suits your needs. You may even negotiate slightly to have a wider number of inclusions, or get the premium slightly lowered. Generally, younger non-smoking persons without a history of poor health or hereditary leanings towards listed critical illnesses, end up paying lower premiums than those who buy the same plan when they are older and/or diagnosed with pre-existing illnesses at the time of taking the policy.