Ensuring a healthy life is the key to sustaining oneself and living up to the full potential. However, in today’s complicated and stressful living conditions remaining healthy is no longer a matter of maintaining a few good habits. Ailments can strike anytime. The scope of the ailment turning into a critical illness is not a fanciful fear. With soaring medical expenses, securing good and thorough health insurance can be the difference between a smooth recovery and one riddled with financial uncertainty. In cases of critical illnesses, a basic health plan may not be sufficient. It is here that a critical insurance policy comes into play.
Critical illness insurance is a popular insurance rider that provides additional coverage that can be added to the insurance policy in exchange for an additional premium. Critical illness insurance provides a lump sum to the insured (policyholder) in case the person is diagnosed with a listed critical illness. A critical illness policy provides coverage against major life-threatening diseases such as cancer, tumour, heart ailments, kidney failure, etc.
Read on to learn about the benefits critical illness insurance provides to the insured.
- Income Replacement: A diagnosis of a critical illness comes with the added stress of financial burden. The patient may be required to quit their job for the time being as they undergo treatment. With the critical insurance policy, the patient will receive a significant amount to make up for the treatment’s expenses. This in turn will secure the financial future of the patient and their family.
- Fixed Premium: Although securing the critical illness rider along with the insurance policy will add an amount to your premium, it would not increase the premium in case the insured is diagnosed with any of the covered critical illnesses.
- Large Cover: Critical illnesses typically need high expenditure on treatment. The treatment expenses can burn a hole in your pocket within no time. Here, the critical illness policy can be a major relief as it covers a wide coverage against multiple critical illnesses and that too, at a nominal additional premium price.
- Lump-Sum Benefit: The critical illness rider helps the policyholder manage their treatment expenses by paying a lump-sum amount. The policyholder receives the entire amount in one go which can act as a blessing for the family. Additionally, they can also use the amount as per the different requirements.
- Tax Benefits: Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 allows the insured to reap tax benefits of up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs for the policy premium paid. When one buys a critical illness policy along with their basic health plan, they can avail tax benefits on the critical illness insurance plan as well.
- Coverage: The rider provides coverage for most major diseases like heart attack, cancer, kidney failure, stroke, major organ transplant, paralysis, bypass surgery, etc. A critical illness insurance rider covers a wide range of conditions that are usually serious and the treatment of the same is exorbitant.
The points discussed above are some of the basic benefits that the policyholder with a critical illness policy can expect to reap. Having this critical illness insurance can make a huge difference in your battle against life-threatening illnesses. So depending on your medical condition, and that of your family do not forget to buy a critical illness policy cover along with your basic health insurance policy.
