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Why you should get a critical illness cover even if you have a medical insurance?

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Many people are of the opinion that they do not require critical illness cover if they already have a medical insurance policy. Most of them consider medical insurance and critical illness cover to be interchangeable. Lack of information is the major cause that leads to this mistake.

In critical illness policy, the benefit that will be accorded to you in lieu of the policy is a one-time benefit. This means that benefit of the policy will have to be used once and in an extreme situation where the cost associated with treatment is very high. Critical illness policy is particularly suitable to such situations where you will be required to pay a huge sum in a considerably shorter period of time for disease that may not be covered in your medical insurance. This helps to deal better with the challenges posed by some of the dreaded diseases.

Medicalinsurancepolicy covers an individual against the cost of pre and post- hospitalization even if it is for minor illness or injuries (except if it is not covered under the medical insurance policy). But if the insured is diagnosed with any major disease which may require prolonged hospitalization then critical illness policy will come to the individual’s rescue. It provides for cost for treatment and subsequent care taking, debts pay off, recuperation aids, loss of income and change in lifestyle in a lump sum amount.

Let’s us understand why health insurance and critical illness plan are required separately.

Feature

Health insurance takes care of your medical and OPD expenses during hospitalization. It might not cover all the diseases and generally have a longer waiting period.

On the other hand, critical illness covers life-threatening diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis, kidney failure, bypass surgery etc. The policyholderwill get the cover amount as soon as he/she gets diagnosed with any of the listed critical illnesses. This policy is not related with the hospitalization expenses.

Coverage

Health insurance policy covers accidents and a variety of ailments. But, critical illness policy covers a specified list of critical illnesses; the number depends on the insurance company. So, you need to do your research for both health insurance and critical cover before buying. You need to choose the best health insurance and critical cover add-on which gives you wide coverage.

Benefits

Benefits of health insurance plan include the reimbursement of hospitalization expenses, cashless facility when treatment is done in a network hospital. Even after making a claim, your health insurance policy might continue till the time your entire sum insured is exhausted and it can be renewed every year. For critical illness plans, the policyholder receives a tax-free lump sum after diagnosis of a pre-specified critical illness. Since the entire amount is handed at once, the insured can spend it as he/she wishes. However, the critical illness policy expires once the claim is made.

Waiting Period

Health insurance policies, usually, have a waiting period for the first 30 days minimum and the illness contracted during this duration from the commencement of the policy is excluded. In the case of pre-existing ailments, there is generally a waiting period of 1 to 4 years.

Whereas in case of critical illness policy, usually there are a 3-month general waiting period and the illness diagnosed in this period is not included in the cover.

Conclusion

While medical insurance plans are purchased to settle hospitalization expenses, critical illness policy covers the financial expenses that arise from a serious illness. Both the policies are designed to serve some particular purpose and complement each other and hence, both the plans are important and should be purchased separately.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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