Being diagnosed with a critical illness like Cancer, cardiovascular ailments, Organ transplant, etc not only brings additional stress to the family but also wipes out your lifetime savings. Sticking to a healthy diet and following an exercise regime could keep many such unwanted ailments at bay. But, sometimes due to hereditary reasons and mostly with age, the chance of developing a life-threatening lifestyle disease increases. Unlike minor ailments, the treatment in such cases could be a financial drain on the family as the costs may run into several lakhs.
Why a Critical Illness Plan is essential?
A critical illness plan works differently from a Mediclaim plan. A CI plan is a health insurance plan that pays a lump sum amount, equal to the sum insured, to the insured on acquiring a serious ailment such as cancer or a stroke. A CI cover provides a lump sum benefit that can pay for the cost of care and treatment, recuperation expense, and even pay off any debt if taken. Regardless of your hospital expenses, the insurer pays the full sum insured.
It does not matter if you have more than one CI plan as all the policies will pay you the lump sum in the unfortunate event of you being diagnosed with a critical illness. Mediclaim on the other hand is an indemnity plan which only reimburses the expenses incurred.
Features Of Critical Illness Plan
- CI plans can be availed from Life Insurance, General Insurance or Standalone Health insurance companies.
- It can be availed as a separate plan OR can be availed as a rider to the existing insurance plans.
- A wide range of critical illness, ranging from 8 to 20, are covered by most insurers
- With most insurers any critical illness diagnosed within the first 90 days and death within 30 days following the diagnosis of the critical illness will not be generally covered. However few insurers have now started reimbursing claims for survival days ranging from 0 to 28 days too.
- CI plan can be bought as an individual plan or as a family floater plan.
- The premiums paid under the policy is eligible for tax deduction under Sec 80D of Income Tax Act.