Things To Consider While Buying Critical Illness Health Insurance

In health insurance getting a second layer of protection through critical illness plans pays in the long run. Here is how to choose one.

- Manish Jain

Lifestyle diseases are rolling on and many of us are falling prey to it. 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.

Unlike a mediclaim plan, the critical illness plans work slightly differently. It is a health insurance cover that provides financial assistance to the insured when he acquires a serious aliment such as cancer or has a stroke. Instead of reimbursing the actual amount of claim like an individual health plan or a family floater, a critical illness plan pays the entire sum insured. A CI cover provides a lump sum benefit which can pay for the costs for the care and treatment, recuperation expense and even could pay-off your debt if taken. Regardless of your hospital expenses, the insurer pays the full sum insured. Further, no matter one holds several CI covers from different insurers, every such policy pays.