How Many Types Of Critical Illness Insurance Are Available In India?

1. How Many Types Of Critical Illness Insurance Are Available In India?

2. Awareness about health insurance is rising in the country, but there is still ambiguity about what kinds of diseases need to be covered. Assuming that just having a medical insurance will secure you from incurring heavy medical costs is a mirage! The advancement in medical technology and availability of various options of treatment ensures that life expectancy increases and more and more people get a chance to fight deadly diseases. However, the cost of treatment is the major deterrent when it comes to actually being able to afford the treatment. It comes as no surprise that thousands of people are pushed below the poverty line every year for not being able to afford costly treatments for some of the major diseases.

3. A basic insurance policy does cover against hospitalisation expenses as well as pre and post hospitalisation medical care, but there are certain critical illnesses that cost a bomb for their treatment and require special attention to address them. For example, angioplasty can cost anywhere between Rs. 1-4 lakhs and a disease like cancer can easily cost you almost Rs. 15-20 lakhs without a guarantee of successful treatment. Besides these, there are some illnesses like paralysis etc. that can render you on bed for extended periods of time thereby robbing you of your ability to earn a respectable living apart from putting you under huge financial stress of treatment and running the house. Also, some of these diseases can be treated in India, but some of them require treatment abroad, which is out of the question for most of us.

4. Types Of Critical Illnesses First of all, let us know the kind of critical illnesses that are covered by various insurance companies. These are: • Cancer • End Stage Renal Failure • Multiple Sclerosis • Benign Brain Tumour • Motor Neuron Disorder • End Stage Lung Disease • Major Organ Transplant • Heart Valve Replacement

5. Paralysis • Myocardial Infarction • Major Burns • Coma • Blindness • Parkinson’s • Alzheimer’s • End Stage Liver Disease • Bacterial Meningitis • Aplastic Anemia

6. The Solution These are the illnesses that are covered under critical illnesses insurance, but all of them are not automatically covered by your insurance provider in your insurance plan. One option is that you specifically take a cover for critical illnesses for which the premium is going to be slightly on the higher side. Second option is that you add these diseases in your existing medical policy by paying extra premium. Benefits of Critical Illness Insurance If you’re the only bread winner in the family, then it becomes imperative for you to cover yourself and your family members against unforeseen sickness and diseases. Critical illness insurance is better than regular health insurance in many ways. The major benefits are:

7. As mentioned, it covers against life threatening diseases • No hospitalisation is required as you can claim the insured amount based on diagnosis • The entire insurance amount is paid as part of one lump sum payment so that you can utilise the funds accordingly i.e. whether complete amount on treatment or partial amount on treatment and partial on running the house till you recover to start earning again • It covers you for a longer duration of time ideally between 15-20 years • Tax benefits under Section 80D • Provides free health checkups from time to time

8. Getting affected by any of these life-threatening diseases not only puts a strain on your health, but also on the ability to recover and resume your regular life. The pressure is also on your caretakers, who have to not only provide you with the best possible medical care, but also shoulder the responsibility of running the household and ensuring life goes on as usual. Due to changing lifestyles, pollution, added chemicals in our food, water and air and host of other man-made factors, incidences of cancer, heart disease and such ailments is on a rise. The sad part is these diseases don’t target people from any particular social strata and anyone and everyone can be affected by them. Therefore it is a saying from a bygone era that certain diseases affect the rich people and certain only target the poor ones. In today’s world everyone is equally susceptible to such critical illnesses, but our ability to fight them off varies tremendously!

9. The best weapon in our hand, then, is to have a critical illness insurance cover so that not only are we able to fight the battle of survival, but also able to help our family members with a dignified life. Go ahead and do your research about various plans available in the market and choose the one that fits your requirements. Safeguard yourself, right away! Compare Critical Illness Insurance