Critical Illness Health Insurance: Your second layer of protection after buying medical cover

Coronavirus pandemic and the spread of infection is in full swing across the nation. While vaccination, wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing remains the best defense against it, the probability of getting infected cannot be ruled out. While the medical infrastructure and the treatment of Covid-19 will have their role to play, what impact does the infection on our other body organs have over the medium to long term remains to be seen. As an individual, make sure you are adequately prepared to protect your savings and life amidst the pandemic.

- Ashwini Kumar Sharma

In the work-from-home environment, even the danger from lifestyle diseases cannot be ruled out. Following a healthy-diet and wellness programme and an exercise regime could keep many of such unwanted ailments at bay. Sometimes hereditary but mostly with age the chance of having a life threatening life-style disease is financially a drain on the family. Of late, more and more people have started leading a healthy lifestyle backing it up with wellness programmes. This certainly helps but does not remove the risk of being hospitalised due to unforeseen events. The cost of hospitalisation, especially in urban locations, is increasing at a fast rate. According to a few studies done in the past, medical inflation in India is around 17 per cent annually, much above the general inflation level. The need for adequate health cover is increasingly becoming critical and consequently choosing the right health insurance plan has become very important. Let’s look at few important features that could help you take a more informed decision.

If you already hold a health plan (mediclaim or family floater), maybe its time to consider creating a second guard of defense through critical illness (CI) plan especially if approaching age 40. In health insurance getting a second layer of protection through critical illness plans pays in the long run.