Critical illness is one of the major health insurance products which was ignored by many. Medical insurance which is basically an INDEMNITY policy will come into force when there is a hospitalization requirement, but CRITICAL ILLNESS is a benefit payout plan where on the occurrence of any one major illness after being diagnosed, the critical illness coverage amount is payable.
Critical illness cover is provided by all the health insurance companies as well as life insurance companies (as riders). Kindly note that CRITICAL ILLNESS cover is never a substitute for medical insurance as both the contracts are separate in nature.
CRITICAL ILLNESS cover is the one which provides income benefit for the person who is diagnosed with major dreaded illnesses (close to 20+ diseases considered as life-threatening disease as per health insurance company) which will impact his future income earning as well as continuity of employment. This cover is always an addon to the medical insurance and it is highly required in this 24/7 work environment.
Assume a scenario where a high performing employee got diagnosed with a major illness like (heart attack, kidney failure, cancer, stroke) etc… then, it will be a huge setback for the family where his employment requires a break due to his medical condition as well as loss of income with huge medical costs post-hospitalization due to rehabilitation (nurse care, frequent doctor visit, physiotherapy and related stuff).
By having adequate critical illness cover, in case of unfortunate event of diagnosis of one of the major illnesses, sum insured equal to critical illness will be paid which will help the insured to take adequate time to recover fully before being gainfully employed. In a situation where his leaves are completely exhausted resulting in LOSS OF PAY, then this income benefit will be ideally useful so as to ensure that all his savings do not erode due to major illness.
Critical illness is also available as either LUMPSUM (onetime payment) or Staggered payout option (regular pay for a specific period of time) where the benefit option can be chosen at the time of taking the policy with either lumpsum (or) staggered payout option.
We are living in an age where HEART ATTACK even occurs in a young person in the 30’s. Hence it is highly important that CRITICAL ILLNESS cover is availed so as to protect from the financial burden arising out of major illnesses. Also, CANCER is one disease where it can only be prevented but could not be fully eliminated in spite of having recurring expenses like chemotherapy, immunotherapy, Radiation therapy and other treatments. It is highly important to consider CRITICAL ILLNESS cover which will be very handy during unfortunate health exigencies.
