How to buy a critical illness policy with a health or life insurance policy?

2024-08-02

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You are lucky if you have not come across the term 'critical illness' so far. However, the wise decision would be to understand critical illnesses and protect yourself and your loved ones from the financial burden it brings with it.

A critical illness is a life-threatening disease that includes diseases like cancer, renal failure, heart attack, etc. Treating these illnesses requires you to visit hospitals multiple times over a long period. If you don't have a life insurance plan to protect yourself against critical illnesses, you may have to spend the life savings that you would have kept for your child's education or some other important financial goal.

Why is Buying the Best Life Insurance Plan for Critical Illnesses Important?

If you are diagnosed with any critical illness, you will need both time and money to recover. Along with it, you may have to quit your job to get treatment for the same. If you are the only breadwinner in your family, everyone dependent on you will go through a tough time. To sum up, critical illness comes with two problems:

a) You lose your monthly income/job
b) Your monthly expenses increase exponentially to cover the high cost of treatment

To ensure your family does not go through financial stress when you're diagnosed with a critical illness, you need a critical illness insurance plan.

How to Get a Critical Illness Cover?

Now that you know the need for protection against critical illness through insurance, you must be wondering the options for getting a critical illness cover. Below are three ways of getting a critical illness cover -

1. With Health Insurance

Basic health insurance plan does not come with a critical illness cover. But most health insurance plans give you the option to include critical illness cover in the same. With general health insurance, you cover your surgical and medical expenses. Health insurance that comes with critical illness cover gives you a lump sum amount. You can use a lump sum amount for the treatment of critical illness.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance Health First plan covers you against 26 major critical illnesses. The sum assured received is irrespective of the amount you incur for treatment. It means if the sum assured is Rs 20 lakh and your treatment cost is Rs 15 lakh, you will still receive Rs 20 lakh.

2. With Life Insurance

The next option to secure yourself with critical illness is by buying life insurance with riders. Almost every life insurance plan gives you the option to take additional riders. The critical illness riders protects you and your family when it comes to paying large medical bills. In addition to your base Sum Assured, you get additional cover for critical illness.

For example, you buy life insurance with a life cover of Rs 1 crore and take critical illness cover as a rider. It will give you additional protection (sum assured) of Rs 40 lakh against critical illness. The premium charged will be higher in this case.

The other option is to opt for Canara HSBC Life Insurance iSelect Smart360 Term Plan, in which you get critical illness cover built-in. You are paid the sum assured if you die or if you are diagnosed with a critical illness. The advantage of the built-in feature is that the premium you need to pay is lower (compared to the rider option) while the sum assured is more or less the same.

For example, with the iSelect Smart360 Term Plan Life Option, you can opt for a sum assured of Rs 1 crore. It will be paid to you (or nominee) if you die or are diagnosed with any critical illness.

3. Standalone Critical Illness Insurance

You can also protect yourself from critical illness by buying a standalone critical illness policy. With a standalone critical illness plan, the number of diseases covered is usually higher. However, it is not always the case. Some health insurance plans may cover all critical illnesses that you may get in a standalone option.

When you buy the iSelect Smart360 Term Plan, all the major critical illnesses are covered, and you don't need the standalone option. However, you can still go with a standalone policy for specific critical illnesses.

4. Specific Critical Illness Plans

There are certain diseases in which the cost of treatment is very high. A general critical illness cover may not be sufficient in such cases. Below are two such critical illnesses cover which may require your special attention:

a) Cancer Cover

Cancer cover is a type of critical policy which gives your coverage for a whole range of costs associated with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It includes hospitalization, radiation, surgery, chemotherapy, etc. All the different types of cancers are included in the cancer cover plan.

b) Heart Cover

Just like there is a cover for cancer-related diagnosis, similarly, there is a cover for heart-related issues. The payout you receive will depend on the severity of the diagnosed condition and claims you have previously admitted under this policy.

Learn how does a life insurance plan covers death by a heart attack.

Health First Plan from Canara HSBC Life Insurance

Health First Plan by Canara HSBC Life Insurance covers these two specific critical illnesses in the policy itself. The advantages of the plan are:

a) The payment is made to you as soon you are diagnosed with a heart or cancer condition.

b) As soon as the minor condition is diagnosed, you receive 25% of the sum assured to start your treatment.

c) If the severity level increases, you will receive 75% of the sum assured if 25% was received when diagnosed with a minor condition. Otherwise, 100% of the sum assured is made available to you.

d) Once you are diagnosed with any heart or cancer condition, you get all the benefits without paying any future premiums.

A critical illness insurance plan helps you get the right treatment which increases the chances of your survival. Therefore, you should have it covered in one of the three ways discussed above.

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