We all know the importance of an insurance plan in this fast paced life. We insure our cars, house, bike, life and even mobile phones these days. Most of us have also insured our health by buying a health insurance plan but is it sufficient? God Forbid if one falls prey to a critical illness then may be just a health plan would not suffice to fulfill his medical and day to day expenses. Critical illness takes a toll on not just one’s health but also his job and other sources of income. A health insurance plan will only pay his hospitalization bills and not for his advanced treatments or EMI’s. A critical illness plan provides a lump sum amount on diagnosis itself and one does not need to submit hospitalization bills or be hospitalized for the same.
Let’s take an example, suppose Raj suffers from Chronic Kidney Disorder, Raj doesn’t need to be hospitalized he has to undergo regular dialysis. Regular dialysis doesn’t need the patient to be admitted for 24 hours and also his treatment will need to be weekly or twice a week, which will burn a huge hole in his pocket. Also since he is weak and the treatment is a continuous process his income earning capacity will be hampered and this will exhaust his entire savings. Now if Raj had a critical illness policy he would receive a lump sum on the diagnosis itself, with this lump sum amount he could pay his EMI’s, pay for his treatment, he could also get a transplant done and his savings wouldn’t be hampered to a large extent.
There are many critical illness plans in the market like Bajaj Allianz, Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+, ICICI prudential Life, HDFC life Cancer Care, Aegon iCancer.
Some plans like HDFC Life Cancer Care and Aegon iCancer only provide cover against Cancer. Whereas Bajaj Allianz has a constraint when it comes to maximum sum assured. ICICI prudential Life is a critical illness rider, Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+ is a standalone plan which covers multiple critical illnesses that occur in India like – Kidney Failure, organ transplant, Heart attack, cancer, Brain Tumor, major burns etc. Also Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+ is comparatively cheaper and provides a high cover like up to Rs 1 crore with a multi claim option. Under this multi claim option one can claim thrice, so if the policy holder is diagnosed with three critical illnesses he can claim thrice and hence comprehensive protection is provided.
Understanding that the policy holder will not be in a state to pay his/her premiums after he/she is diagnosed by the first critical illness, the future premiums under the multi claim option is waived off. With the increase in the rate of inflation, it is but obvious that there will be increase in cost of treatment for any critical illness so it’s always advisable to be financially secured against critical illnesses. My opinion is that Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+ is the best critical illness plan in the market and it can help one bounceback from a critical illness.