Critical illness cover - The Importance of Critical Illness Coverage

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. You cannot predict what is going to occur next in life. The only mantra is to be prepared against the uncertainties that life offers. What if you are diagnosed with a critical illness disease? Scary, isn’t it? Seriously, that’s the last thing anyone would wish for.

Nowadays, people are more prone to risks such as hospitalization, accident disability, critical illness, and death. Therefore, this makes it important for you to look beyond the need of having just a health insurance plan. You need to add a critical illness cover to your plan. This defined benefit cover is an add-on protection that you can attach to your health insurance plan in case you are diagnosed with a critical illness disease. Examples of critical illnesses –

Paralysis
Kidney failure
Stroke
Major organ transplantation
Heart attack

Why do you need a critical illness coverage?

Here’s why do you need a critical illness coverage –

It covers hospitalization as well as other costs

Suppose the breadwinner of the family is diagnosed with a critical illness disease and takes some time off from work, then this might affect the financial health of the family. A critical illness cover in such condition would ensure that the family is able to meet their regular needs and avail good treatment, without having to worry about the medical expenses.

Increase in lifestyle disorders

Lifestyle disorders such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are increasingly affecting young adults. Such conditions are prevailing because of the change in lifestyle as there is less physical activity. Kids these days, spend most of their time sitting in front of the computer. In addition to this, there is a rising consumption of refined food, instant food, and junk food. Health care cost is increasing due to the rising incidence of such diseases. Moreover, some of these diseases require lifelong treatment that can turn out to be very expensive. Thus, including critical illness cover with your health plan would prove to be very beneficial in such a situation as it can help you to avail the best treatment without any financial hassles.

Youngsters suffering from critical illness –

Youngsters nowadays consider themselves to be very healthy and this is the reason they delay in getting critical illness coverage. Youngsters are more likely to suffer from critical illness diseases due to lot of stress and for spending long hours at work. Thus, these factors make it important for you to include critical illness cover in your health insurance policy.

What’s covered under critical illness insurance policy?

Here’re the following diseases broadly covered under critical illness insurance –

Open heart replacement surgery
Cancer disease
Heart attack
Kidney failure that requires regular dialysis
Stroke that results in permanent symptoms
Deafness
Loss of speech
Major organ or bone marrow transplant
Permanent paralysis of limbs
Multiple sclerosis
Major burns
Last stage lung disease
Bacterial meningitis

What’s not covered under critical illness insurance policy?

A list of things not covered under critical illness insurance are as follows –

Illness due to tobacco, alcohol, smoking or drug intake
HIV or AIDS inflection
Individual diagnosed with critical illness within first 90 days of taking the policy
Cosmetic surgery or dental care
Infertility treatment
Civil war, terrorism, navy or military operations
Death within 30 days of your diagnosis with critical illness disease or surgery
Hormone replacement treatment
It includes critical conditions such as consequences due to child birth or pregnancy, including caesarean
Infertility treatment

Important Things to Look for While Buying a Critical Health Plan –

Below mentioned are the few points you need to consider –

Pre-existing diseases: While some plans cover pre-existing diseases after a certain waiting period, but there are also plans that do not cover them at all. Thus, you need to conduct a proper assessment on what all is covered under the pre-existing clause.

Total critical ailments covered by the policy: One of the few things you need to consider before buying a critical illness cover is the total critical ailments covered by your policy. You must do a proper research before finalizing on one.

Free-look period: Mostly insurance companies offer a free-look period of 15 days so as to review your decision. In this period of time, if you find that your plan is not fitting well with your needs, then you can request for cancellation and subsequent refund.

Built-in coverage: While a critical illness insurance plan is aimed at providing a financial cover against several life-threatening diseases, there are several insurance companies that offer built-in coverages. Such coverage includes child education benefit, complimentary health check-ups, personal accident cover so that your loved ones are least affected during such difficult times.

Survival period: Usually, critical illness policies come with a survival clause of 30 days. While some insurance companies may expand it to beyond 30 days, depending on the illness. This means that the policyholder has to survive for 30 days’ post diagnosis of the disease in order to claim the policy.

Procedure to claim for critical illness policy –

If you wish to file a claim, contact your insurance company right away and file the claim. Here’re the following documents required to file a critical illness insurance claim –

Duly filled claim form
Photograph of ID card
Medical certificate that you have received from the doctor which shows you have a critical illness disease.
Your detailed discharge summary

After verifying these above mentioned documents, your insurance company will send a written communication stating the approval or disapproval of a claim.

Always remember, there’s nothing more important in life than your health. Your busy schedule might not allow you to invest enough time to take care of your body properly, but you can do proper arrangements in advance for a stable financial well-being. After all, health is wealth.

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