An Introduction to Critical Illness Insurance Policy

The new age critical illness insurance plans are designed to help protect the policyholder’s financial future against the strain arising due to medical emergencies. Today, these plans complement almost all health insurance, providing the policy buyer a sense of relief that they have a contingency to cover for high medical expenses. However, to ensure one uses the features and offerings of the plans better, one should check the critical illness plan scope, limitations, and more in detail. To give you a jump start, let’s discuss critical illness insurance plans in detail below. 

What is a Critical Illness Insurance Policy?

A critical illness policy can be described as a comprehensive plan that extends a lump sum amount when the insured gets diagnosed with an illness covered under the insurance plan. Such an insurance plan accounts for critical disorders such as cancer, heart disorders, or renal failure. It offers the insured access to financial aid that will help them meet the high cost of seeking treatment and focus on their recovery instead. 

Features of a Critical Illness Insurance Policy

Here are the key features of a critical illness policy – 

Coverage: This comprehensive insurance safeguards the policy buyers against several critical illnesses, including cancer, tumors, renal failure, and cardiac arrest, providing robust financial protection and the peace of mind to focus on recovery.

Lump-sum Amount: As a standard practice, the insurer extends a one-time payment to the insured for the treatment of critical illnesses covered under the plan and as per the policy document.

Tax Benefits: Policyholders are allowed to claim tax benefits under the Indian Income Tax Act of 1961. Under Section 80D they can claim a deduction of a maximum of Rs. 15,000 from their annual taxable income. On the other hand, senior citizens can claim a deduction of a maximum of Rs. 20,000.

What to Check Before You Get a Critical Insurance Policy?

It is important to check that the critical illness policy features these aspects to ensure proper coverage and financial support during a medical emergency. 

Sum Assured: The choice of a critical illness cover is crucial in deciding the most suitable plan and it depends on the policy buyers’ needs. Since the treatment costs for critical illnesses vary substantially, assessing one’s cover requirements is vital to making an informed decision. Individuals can avail of a critical insurance quote from their preferred insurer’s website to understand whether the plan aligns with their goals or not.

Affordable premiums: Individuals can safeguard their health and finances with any of their preferred critical Illness plans that extend affordable premiums for comprehensive cover against critical illness disorders. This can protect them from the financial burden arising due to high medical expenses resulting from a critical illness.

Simple claim process: Navigating the insurance claim processes can seem overwhelming during a stressful time. That’s why it is advised to pick a policy that comes with a simplified claim process to ensure a hassle-free experience in settling claims. This helps the insured to focus on getting timely treatment and recovery without being constantly worried about completing multiple claim settlement requirements.

Illnesses covered: It is essential to review the list of illnesses covered under their preferred critical insurance plan. This data is crucial to building contingencies and seeking necessary avenues for help during a medical emergency. Usually, critical illnesses including cancer up to a fixed stage, coma, cardiac surgery, and cardiac disorders are included in the critical illness policy.

Critical Illness Insurance Policy Exclusions

Besides the features, individuals should also check the exclusions of the policy to assess its scope. The actual list of exclusions might vary among insurance providers, however, most plans typically do not cover these circumstances in the plan –

• Illness caused by an external or internal congenital disease
• If a covered illness gets diagnosed during the plan’s waiting period
• Illness due to indulgence in poor lifestyle choices like alcohol, smoking, tobacco, drug abuse, etc. 

Importance of Critical Illness Insurance Policy

Today, the role of critical illness plans is clearer than ever. With increasingly sedentary lifestyles and dietary habits, unhealthy habits, and environmental pollution, the prevalence of critical illnesses is rising at an alarming rate. Several studies have shown a sharp rise in individuals affected by worsening conditions. Also, the age at which individuals develop these critical illnesses is decreasing rapidly, making the young generation vulnerable. Since the risk of developing critical illnesses like stroke, cancer, heart disease, etc. is significantly high in this era of stress and unhealthy lifestyle choices, individuals must consider getting comprehensive coverage. The cover can serve as a financial safety net and allow individuals to account for high treatment costs and seek timely medical aid. 

Steps to Use a Critical Illness Calculator Online 

A critical illness calculator is readily available online today and can be used for free. Individuals can easily access and use it by following these steps –

Step 1: Find a reliable insurance provider website

Step 2: Look for the critical illness calculator page

Step 3: Open the term plan calculator

Step 4: Enter key details into the critical illness calculator

Step 5: Click the Calculate button

After these steps are covered, the online tool will help determine the premium and coverage within a few seconds. The tool can be used for free, making it possible for users to make several adjustments to the variables and compare different premium and cover combinations. Based on their research, users can pick a plan that matches the test with their requirements and helps them build a reliable safety net with ease. 

Critical illness coverage has become important in the time we live in to build financial security to tackle any medical emergency. However, it is important to pick a plan that suits their financial standing and requirements to ensure they do not strain their monthly income with the insurance premium.  They can use the critical illness calculator to determine whether the plan suits their requirements or if the premium meets their financial standing.