Choose the Best Critical Illness Policy for your Family in Just 5 Steps

Purchasing the right critical illness plan safeguards your family from financial hardships during a life-threatening disease. Use this guide to find the right Critical Illness Insuranceplan that works best for you and your family.

Critical illness of a family member is a life turner. It not only leaves the entire family emotionally and physically drained, but the treatment costs could wipe out the whole life-savings of the family. With medical expenses sky-rocketing year-on-year, the best way to financially protect your family from a devastating disease is by securing them with a critical illness plan.

What is a Critical illness Plan?

It’s a special type of medical insurance policy that offers a lump-sum benefit to the insured on the diagnosis of a critical illness. Unlike regular Mediclaim policies that reimburse only the actual medical costs, a critical illness plan is a fixed benefit plan. The insured receives the sum assured, without having to produce bills of medical treatments and other hospitalisation expenses.

Why the Need for a Critical illness Plan?

A critical illness requires extensive medical care, often involving multiple hospital visits and several rounds of hospitalisation, treatment, and major surgeries. Additionally, being diagnosed with a critical illness often leads to the loss of income of the patient.

With a critical illness insurance (CI) plan, you and your family members can easily pay for the best-in-class medical treatment while using the sum assured as a backup for the loss of income. Simply put, a CI plan helps to ease financial worries on the diagnosis of critical illness of the insured family member, thereby allowing you to focus entirely on the treatment and recuperation.

Steps to purchase a Critical Illness Plan

Step 1: List out the Critical Illnesses that you are most likely to Contract

Start by assessing your current health levels with a general body health check-up. Follow the tests with a visit to your physician. Check with your physician for your probability of various critical illnesses. Don’t forget to consider the hereditary diseases that run in your family, as well.

Step 2: Evaluate the List of Critical Illnesses covered by the Plan

The next step is to compare CI plans from different insurers. Check the list of critical illnesses included. Some insurers offer coverage only for the eight major illnesses, while companies like IFFCO TOKIO provides coverage for 25 such illness.

Make sure to go through policy inclusions and exclusions. Look for a policy that offers coverage for all diseases that you have a high probability for.

Step 3: Decide on the Right Size of Sum Assured

The sum assured is the lump sum amount you receive on the diagnosis of a critical illness. The sum assured should be sufficient to meet all your treatment costs, while also providing for the day-to-day family expenses, due to loss of your income.

Consider the coverage you receive from other policies like your regular Mediclaim plan and the financial needs of your family, to decide the right sum assured.

Don’t make the mistake of choosing a lower-priced plan in an attempt to cut costs, as it may not provide you with the required coverage. Remember to strike the right balance between the sum assured and the premium.

Step 4: Check if the Plan offers Lifelong Renewal

The probability of contracting a major illness increases as you age. So, make sure to look for a CI plan that offers life-long renewal.

Step 5: Decide if you want a Stand-alone Plan or a Rider Plan

Most insurers allow you to choose a critical illness policy as a rider that can be added to your comprehensive health insurance plan or as a separate stand-alone plan.

Evaluate your current medical coverage and choose the right plan that works for you. For instance, if you are covered by a group plan provided by your employer, it may not be possible to choose a rider critical illness cover from another insurer.

Complete the Purchase

A critical illness plan complements the coverage of your regular medical policy and protects you and your family from financial worries during life-threatening ailments.

Make sure to follow the steps listed above, compare plans from different insurers and choose the right one that offers you maximum coverage at the most affordable prices.