Why should you buy critical illness insurance

Good health and its maintenance have become the topic of interest for all of us. We constantly find ways to lead a healthy life. While the quest towards good health is important, it is equally essential to understand that health adversaries come unannounced, consequently dampening spirits and burdening pocket.

With hospitals investing heavily in super-specialty equipment and technology that runs into several crores of rupees, medical care is gradually becoming unaffordable for the major sections of the society. According to the report by the National Commission on Macroeconomic and Health, the prices of popular drugs like anti-TB, antibiotics, etc.; have increased in India at the rate of 15% per year.  

   
Additionally, there are expenses like ICU admission, food charges, etc.; which can go sky-high. To meet the exorbitant medical expenses, patients, and their families are left with no choice than dipping into their years of savings. That said one can always be prepared to face such unforeseen circumstances by buying a mediclaim policy. The policy takes care of the hospitalization expenses and thus, assures complete peace of mind. With a mediclaim policy, one can seek best medical treatment without worrying about costs.

Though, it is imperative to buy mediclaim policy but it raises an important question, which is:

Is mediclaim policy sufficient to fight against critical ailments?

Most of the people have a misconception that their mediclaim policy is equal to health insurance. But it is not true. A mediclaim policy is not as extensive as health insurance, and also it covers only hospitalization expenses. However, it’s not only hospitalization bills; there is also a loss of income if the breadwinner has to take a break from work due to an illness. There are other expenses like household expenses, loan EMIs, children school fees, etc.; for which a patient also needs money. Further, mediclaim plans have sub-limits and caps, and they don’t cover the entire hospitalization expenses, and the patient ends up paying a part of expenses from his pocket. Also, if you want to consult a faculty or specialist abroad, it will not be covered under basic medicalim policies.

As the cases of critical ailments are increasing in India; it is not wise to solely rely on mediclaim policies when the coverage they offer is between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for the medical cost that may run into lakhs. 

The way out- Critical illness cover 

Here critical illness insurance acts as an income replacement by offering complete financial support to the patient. Critical illness policies pay lump sum benefit which can be used to pay medical expenses, travel, food, recuperation expenses, or repayment of debts. The amount is paid, irrespective of the fact that whether the treatment takes place in India or abroad.

The plan works on the diagnosis of a critical ailment rather than other metrics like a number of days in a hospital, hospitalization bills, etc. All that the insurer wants is medical reports to disburse the fixed sum amount, irrespective of the total medical expenses incurred. The policy covers more than 30 critical ailments like cancer, chronic lung diseases, loss of limbs, major head trauma, etc. Critical illness policies also offer tax benefits under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.

Further, these policies are affordable to buy. You can get Rs 25 lakh coverage under critical illness cover by paying only Rs 9,639/year. Also, you can buy critical illness cover online with a click of the mouse. It means insuring health is only a few clicks away!

So along with a mediclaim policy, it makes sense to buy a critical illness insurance policy which lets the patient deals with one less problem by taking care of finances. After all, it is better to be safe than sorry!

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