Must-Have Features of a Critical Illness Policy

With life becoming highly sedentary, we are surrounded by multiple health problems, some of which are not very critical, while some are life-threatening. These critical illnesses can be defined as health conditions that have a significant effect on the lifestyle of an individual and require a lot of finances for treatment. The various impacts of such a situation include loss of earning capability, disability and maybe even more. With the help of the best critical illness policy, you can reduce the blow that a critical illness can have on you and your family.

Why buy the best critical illness policy?

The number of critical illnesses is on the rise. Coupling that with medical inflation,  the cost of dealing with an acute disease adds to the pain and suffering.

In many cases, the coverage that is offered by your health insurance policy might not be enough to cover all medical expenses. Also, there are parts of the critical illness that can be managed at home, which, while still expensive because of treatment and medicines, don’t fall into the hospitalization scenario required by a generic health insurance plan. Hence, it makes brilliant sense to opt for a critical illness policy as it guarantees a lump sum payout on time of diagnosis, which can then be directed towards treatment and compensate for the loss of earning.

What is a critical illness policy?

Critical illness policy is an insurance plan that provides monetary cover for life-threatening diseases such as cancer, tumors, paralysis and others. It takes care of all expenses that are incurred in treating the problem for an extended period. It is of considerable aid in ensuring that you do not drain our life savings. It also is of great use in case you are not covered under any employee benefits scheme or group health insurance.

What are the advantages of a critical illness policy?

If you are the primary breadwinner of the family, there are a lot of responsibilities that you shoulder. In case you fall ill and develop a condition that does not allow you to support your family, what will you do? Here is where you can take advantage of a critical illness policy. It also has some additional benefits, which include:

• The inclusion of expenses of care and recuperation
• Tax benefits under the Income-tax Act under Section 80D
• Free of cost health check-ups

What to look for while buying a critical illness policy?

You must be very vigilant while buying a critical illness coverage plan. Here are the primary factors that you must look for:

• Sum Insured: Make sure that the coverage offered under the plan is 4-5 times your annual income.
• Waiting Period: The best critical illness policy would have the lowest waiting period.
• Premium: You need to maximize the cover while paying a low premium. Try to choose a program that offers better coverage with small investments.
• Number of Diseases Covered: There are different critical illness plans available in the market with the different number of illnesses covered under each. You must check the list of the number of diseases covered under the plan thoroughly before choosing one.
• Maximum Renewability Age: Critical illnesses can affect you at any time of your life cycle. So, choose a policy that has a high maximum-renewability age.

These are a few factors to consider while choosing a critical illness policy cover.