As the life expectancy in India increases, insurance providers are looking for ways to ensure that they are able to secure their old age. Critical illness insurance is one such instrument that protects people of all ages against the financial risk of treatment costs arising out of serious illnesses.
With rising instances of lifestyle disorders due to hectic lifestyles, it is important to cover yourself financially. A critical illness can arise at any time, to anyone. Being inflicted by such a disorder can take its toll – both financially as well as emotionally. That is the reason financial experts recommend people to get a critical illness cover, over and above their health insurance.
While we all understand the importance of health plan, this article will tell you why you also need critical illness insurance to give yourself well-rounded protection.
Some major benefits of getting critical illness insurance are mentioned below:
- Critical illness cover offers an added layer of protection against medical emergencies, such as cancer, heart attack, etc.
- Since these urgencies or diseases incur heavy treatment costs, these policies provide the cash payout that can help cover the expenses that remain outside the purview of traditional policies.
- These are relatively low-cost policies and cater to a wide range of medical emergencies or illnesses.
Let us now discuss the reasons why you must consider investing in critical illness insurance if you haven’t done that already.
1. Investing early will save you money
When it comes to buying a critical illness cover, the early bird gets the worm. The sooner you buy this policy, the better it will be for you financially. What you pay as a premium at a young age will be much lower than what you pay at a later stage in your life. Therefore, buying the policy as early as possible will be able to get you a lower premium with wider coverage. You can also consider using a critical illness premium calculator to see the premium you will be paying at different ages. As such, it allows you to make an objective decision when buying critical illness insurance.
2. Protect yourself against medical costs of lifestyle disorders
Our lives these days are highly stressful. As a result of which, younger people are now at a greater risk of contracting serious lifestyle illnesses, such as heart diseases and cardiovascular conditions that earlier happened only in older adults. So when you buy a critical illness cover, you are able to give yourself quality treatment without worrying about the costs too much. These policies will not only cover your medical expenses but also give you enough cash support to meet your day-to-day expenses due to loss of pay during your recovery period.
3. Enables you to plan your finances
One of the main reasons why financial experts recommend you buying critical illness insurance at such an early stage is because it allows you to get a better handle on your finances. Since accidents and diseases can occur at any point during your life, it will provide a robust cover against these emergencies. Moreover, the premium paid towards these policies is also eligible for tax deduction u/s 80D of the income tax act.
4. Wide range of benefits
Did you know that most illnesses listed in your policy document come with a waiting period of 2 years or more? It means that your insurance provider is not liable to pay you the benefit if you are diagnosed with a critical illness within the waiting period. But if you invest at a young age, you don’t require the policy benefits immediately and would be able to serve the waiting period when you are in the prime of your health. Once this period is over, you will be able to avail the full benefits of your policy and become eligible to file for a claim. Moreover, when you buy the insurance at an early age, you also become eligible for a loyalty bonus.
5. Cash payouts help with more than hospital bills
Critical illness insurance covers a lot more than just your bills. Based on the plan you choose, you will be able to cover the expenses of these diseases at every treatment stage.
The treatment costs these days are very high and the medical bills can go over the roof in absence of medical insurance. However, traditional health insurance policies alone will not be able to cover the complete spectrum of these costs. That is the reason you need to supplement your plan with a critical illness cover so as to protect your finances fully. You can browse for plans online and compare them in real-time to assess the benefits objectively. Be sure to read all the inclusions and exclusions of the policy before making the final investment.
