We all have a mediclaim policy, it’s either provided by our company or sometimes we opt to purchase it. Mediclaim is important as it covers the cost incurred on hospitalization and also many illnesses are covered under a health insurance policy or mediclaim. However, the cost incurred for the treatment of a critical illness is higher than that of a regular illness. Your mediclaim can pay the hospital bills if you are diagnosed by malaria or come across a minor injury but for critical illnesses like cancer, heart disease, kidney failure , etc the treatment cost can range from 6 lakhs to 25 lakhs depending on the severity and the treatment needed. Now your mediclaim can cover only hospitalization costs but certain treatments like dialysis or physiotherapy may not need hospitalization. In this scenario, it’s advisable to also have a critical illness plan.
Now how does a critical illness plan help?
A critical illness plan provides a lumpsum amount on diagnosis of a critical illness which is pre-listed in your critical illness insurance policy. It is not a mandate to share hospitalisation bills. A critical illness not just impacts your health but also impacts you financially. Once diagnosed by a critical illness you may need a treatment which can go on for at least 2 – 3 months which means you will need a break from your work for atleast 5 to 6 months. Now for all these months you will not be earning and your expenses will still continue. The lump sum amount you receive from your critical illness insurance can be used the way you want to use it. It can be used to pay your EMIs, day to day expenses, treatment cost etc. Critical illness plans are easily available by both life and general insurance companies. Some companies offer it as a rider which has to be purchased along with another plan, however there’s not much cost difference between rider and a stand alone plan but when you opt for a rider you are forced to purchase another plan. There are many stand alone critical illness plans, some provide cover only against cancer. Some cover multiple illnesses but the sum assured may be not more than 20 lakhs. One such plan which covers multiple critical illnesses and provides a high sum assured at a reasonable rate is provided by Edelweiss Tokio Life. This plan named Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+ covers 17 critical illness and also provides a multiclaim option. Under this option one can claim thrice, so if one is diagnosed from another critical illness he/she does not have to worry and can claim again. Another plus feature is that after the first claim the future premiums are waived off. This plan seems to provide a comprehensive protection against critical illnesses at a reasonable rate. The initiative BounceBack has helped in providing valuable information about the financial impact after a critical illness.
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