Guide to Health Insurance plans for heart and other specific diseases

No matter how healthy a lifestyle you may lead, sometimes there is no running away from certain diseases. Some ailments could be caused due to certain genetic predispositions and history of illness in the family. This means that you stand a higher risk of contracting certain diseases if members in your family have had a medical history with particular ailments.

Disease-specific health insurance & coverage

In such cases, it is wise to invest in disease-specific health insurance plans. These insurance policies offer standalone coverage for certain diseases with tailored offerings, benefits and attractive premium since only specific health complications are covered under these plans. For instance, cancer plans provide specific coverage against cancerous tumors, their diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

These plans usually provide coverage at all stages and typically have little to no waiting periods. These plans are especially attractive for people with pre-existing conditions.

Critical illness health insurance and coverage

Critical Illness insurance in India provides coverage against a whole host of illnesses like cancer, heart ailments, stroke, kidney failure and burns. They provide coverage against a wide range of diseases covered under critical health insurance. Please find below the critical illness list (Platinum coverage) at HDFC ERGO:

• Heart Attack
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Stroke
• Cancer
• Major Organ Transplantation
• Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
• Paralysis
• Kidney failure
• Aorta Graft Surgery
• Primary Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
• Heart Valve Replacement
• Parkinson's Disease
• Alzheimer's Disease
• End Stage Liver Disease
• Benign Brain Tumours

You can use the online critical illness insurance premium calculator at HDFC ERGO to calculate premium. These policies provide lump sum benefits upon diagnosis of any of the ailments mentioned above. Usually they come with a waiting period of up to 180 days from date of commencement beyond which claims are valid.

Disease-specific vs Critical Illness coverage

While disease-specific coverage covers only one disease such as cancer, critical illness policies provide coverage against a whole host of diseases. While the premium is lesser for standalone disease-specific policies, they will not be too useful against diseases other than the specified condition.

Critical illness policies suffer from an inability to cover all nuances of a disease. For instance, critical illness policies do not cover pre-malignant tumors and CIS stage tumours. This means that a cancer cover policy will provide a complete and thorough coverage in such a case. The choice between the plans is best made keeping in mind your medical history and consultation with a trusted medical physician.

HDFC ERGO provides some of the best critical illness insurance policies in India.  No matter what type of health insurance plan you may choose, HDFC ERGO will prove to be a trusted and reliable companion during a time of unexpected medical crisis.