Learn How to Choose Between Disease-Specific and Critical Illness Insurance Plans

Posted on: Feb 25, 2022 | | Written by:

Learn How to Choose Between Disease-Specific and Critical Illness Insurance Plans

Published on March 1, 2022. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Let’s consider a practical example to understand the importance of purchasing the right health insurance.Shruti, a young and ambitious Project Engineer,was all set to fly to the US for her new job. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. After calculation the expenses on treatment, surgeries, and medication, she was dependent on her medical insurance policy. However, she was shocked when she realized that her health insurance policy only covered hospitalization expenses. Hence, it’s not necessary that your insurance policy covers all your treatment costs. Shrutilearnt the importance of the right insurance plan when she paid more than half of the amount for her treatment. Thus, it’s always wise to compare health insurance plans to avoid such financial stress. In this blog, the key features of the Critical Illness Plan and Disease-Specific Plan are written to get a better understanding of them and help you select a plan.

Critical Illness refers to life-threatening diseases and has a long-term effect on a patient’s lifestyle and requires immediate treatment. A critical illness plan is designed to provide coverage against life-threatening diseases. These plans usually have a higher premium rate with maximum coverage. Under this Critical Illness plan, the policyholder receives the coverage after the illness is diagnosed. It covers treatment, medication, recuperation expenses, etc. An insured person can make a claim only after the completion of the survival period that starts from the day when the illness is diagnosed. Here are some main differences between critical illness insurance and disease-specific plan.

Points to consider	Critical Illness Plan	Disease-specific Plan
Coverage	Mostly, life-threatening diseases are covered under this plan. In case you are diagnosed with any of the covered diseases and meet the terms and conditions of the policy, you will receive a pre-decided amount as claim settlement.	This plan has been designed to offer insurance coverage in case of a particular disease. As per the purchased policy’s terms, you can either receive a pre-decided lump-sum payment or the medical expenses of treating the disease can be paid.
Premium	Due to comprehensive coverage, the premium charged for it is comparatively higher.	Since the coverage is provided for only one specific disease, the premium charged for it is comparatively lower.
Waiting period	Usually, this plan has a waiting period of about 90 days.	Mostly, you don’t have to wait to raise a claim against this plan as they have no waiting period.
Common diseases that are covered	Some of the diseases covered by a Critical Illness Plan: 1) Cancer, 2) Stroke, 3) Benign brain tumour, 4) Coronary artery bypass and 5) Paralysis. The coverage depends on the insurance company, so read the policy document carefully.	A few of the diseases covered include 1) Diabetes, 2) Kidney ailments, 3) Dengue, 4) Hypertension and 5) Cardiac ailments. The plan is not restricted to the above-mentioned diseases.
Suitable for	Critical Illness insurance helps you to enhance your health insurance coverage. Critical illness treatment is very expensive;an insurance plan for the same is helpful to manage your finances during emergency.	If you have a family history of a particular disease; or you need a financial prevention against any specific disease in and around your locality/city – this is a better option.

Conclusion

Critical illnesses result in severe burden on a person’s physical health and financial situation as well, and the treatment for them is far more expensive than a regular health insurance plan can cover. A critical illness insurance policy is the essential to cover these treatment expenses, and opting for it at an early age shall allow the insured to avail of maximum coverage benefits when the need arises. Similarly, if you know your health history and the medical history of your family and identify that a particular disease might affect you, it is better to get a disease-specific insurance

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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