As per the Registrar General of India stats, 32 percent of adult Indians have died between 2010 to 2013 due to coronary heart disease. According to a Global Burden of Diseases report in 2016, 1.7 million Indians died due to heart disease out of the world's 17.3 million deaths.
The World Cancer Report 2018 stated that there are 1.16 million new cancer cases, 784,800 cancer deaths, and 2.26 million 5-year prevalent cases in India's 1.35 billion population.
Why are there so many incidents of acute and life-threatening diseases among Indians?
Due to stressful working conditions, improper work-life balance, smoking, drinking, not sleeping properly, unhealthy eating habits, and a sedentary lifestyle, young individuals between the ages of 25 and 35 are susceptible to lifestyle diseases. The onset of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity, etc., leads to critical and life-threatening illnesses in the long run.
The concept of work from home has not worked in India successfully. Women are now more burdened than ever as they have to do office work plus take care of their children and look after their household chores simultaneously. Social distancing and curfew rules have shut down corporates, working professionals are more confined to their homes than before, further leading to a sedentary lifestyle.
If you face any of these situations, by the time you are 50 years, you will be spending half of your salary on medical bills and hospitalization treatment. This will become an extreme scenario for you and your family.
You must be aware that critical illnesses such as cancer and heart diseases are just the tip of the iceberg. Along with medical complications, critical illness can be chronic. They might impair your bodily functions for a prolonged period of time. This will drain you and your family emotionally, physically, and financially.
To make things worse, if you think you are covered by your employer group policy or standard health insurance policy, check again. Either of the plans mentioned above does not cover critical and life-threatening illnesses.
If you are young but prone to lifestyle disease, this is the right time to buy a critical illness policy.