What Is Critical Illness Insurance?
In essence, a critical illness insurance policy disburses a lump-sum payout to the nominees in case the policyholder is diagnosed with a serious ailment or a chronic medical condition. Oftentimes, insurance companies offer critical illness insurance as an additional rider. However, there are some standalone critical illness insurance policies available in the market as well. This means that you have the option to choose critical illness insurance as an add-on cover whilst purchasing your health insurance policy, or buy it separately, as per you unique insurance needs.
Diseases Covered Under Critical Illness Insurance
Listed below are some medical conditions that are usually covered under such policies:
- Heart attack
- Certain types of cancer
- Heart surgery
- Organ replacement surgeries
- Permanent paralysis
- Kidney failure
- Bone marrow transplant
- End-stage liver disease (end-stage)
- End-stage lung disease (end-stage)
- Hepatitis
- Multiple sclerosis
- Stroke
Please note that the list of ailments covered by critical illness insurance is not limited to what’s mentioned above. To know more about which diseases are covered under your plan, be sure to go through the policy document.
Who Can Benefit From the Critical Illness Policy/Rider?
If you’re someone who doesn’t want to take any chances when it comes to your health and physical wellbeing, then the critical illness insurance can be beneficial for you. This is all the more true if your genetic predisposition leaves you more at risk to contracting certain serious ailments. Moreover, such covers are known to provide primary breadwinners with a sense of security, as they enable their families to lead a financially viable, dignified life, even after an unfortunate diagnosis.
Benefits of Opting for Critical Illness Insurance
1. It Can Act as an Alternate Source of Income
When a policyholder is diagnosed with a serious medical condition, it could potentially put his/her dependents in a financial crunch. In such cases, the lump-sum payout can come to the rescue by acting as an alternate source of income for the impacted family unit. Moreover, if the sum insured of the primary health insurance is insufficient to cover all bills, the disbursal amount can be used to settle unavoidable medical liabilities of the insured.
2. It Offers Coverage Against Critical, Life-Threatening Ailments
As per the course of nature, our health may inevitably degrade as we grow old. The risks of contracting some incurable conditions may escalate, too, further exacerbated by certain genetic predispositions. Therefore, it is wise to stay prepared and protect yourself from life-threatening conditions beforehand.
3. It Can Slash Your Tax Liabilities
As a policyholder, you’re eligible to claim tax benefits of ₹1.5 Lakhs, under Section 80C and Section 80D of the Income Tax Act of 1961. However, it is important to note that the collective amount that can be claimed under this category is ₹1.5 Lakh, with the section-wise limit being ₹25,000 and ₹50,000 per category, for non-senior and senior citizens, respectively. Also, if you’re paying premiums to keep yourself and a senior citizen covered under your policy, you can claim tax benefits of up to ₹75,000.
4. Larger Coverage At a Marginal Price
The lump-sum payout given out by such policies is significantly larger when compared to the premium amounts. In most cases, this holds true even when you opt for a larger sum insured and multiple add-ons, too.
How to Shield Yourself from Serious Diseases?
Always try to maintain a healthy lifestyle by staying active and eating nutritious meals. It is also advisable to stay regular with your health check-ups, to catch any underlying disease in its early stage. However, despite doing so, the natural degeneration of the human body which happens with the passage of time, is unavoidable. Hence, a foolproof way to protect yourself from a plethora of serious ailments would be to own a health insurance policy that has been enhanced using a critical illness rider. Doing so will entitle you to receive a large lump-sum in case of an unfortunate, life-threatening diagnosis. Moreover, if you the cover as an add-on to your primary mediclaim policy, then this payout will be different from the latter’s original sum insured. The disbursal will be made when the policyholder gets diagnosed with one of the pre-determined critical illnesses, irrespective of whether he/she decides to get treatment for the same.
However, it is important to understand that different insurers abide by different policies. Some firms may also deduct the payout amount from the primary plan’s original sum insured, which will be revised post disbursal.
How to Buy Critical Illness Insurance
Just follow the steps mentioned below, to buy a critical illness add-on along with your respective health insurance policy:
Step 1: Tap on the ‘Buy Now’ button mentioned on the top of Bajaj Markets’ Critical Illness Insurance page.
Step 2: Go through the different plans available to select one that best addresses your needs.
Step 3: When prompted to pick add-ons, select the critical illness cover for your health insurance policy.
Step 4: Submit the documents required by the insurer and make your first premium using an online payment method.
That’s it! The policy document for your mediclaim plan, which has now been enhanced by the critical illness cover, will be sent to your registered email address shortly.
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