Which Critical Illness Insurance Plan is the Best in India 2019?

A critical illness can lead to substantial medical costs leaving the family shattered both emotionally and financially. A critical illness policy helps the family in paying healthcare expenses and guarantees financial protection which can be used for treatment. Read more to know about the best critical illness insurance policies in India.

With many threats to our health, some known and some not specific, we can only do our best by preparing for it. We can't predict what is going to happen next. A life insurance plan will provide your loved ones with financial security. However, this will only give benefit to your family after your death. But what if you are diagnosed with a life-threatening disease? Will your insurance plan be enough to cover the huge expenditure of your treatment?

Today, people are prone to critical illnesses due to their lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle can help you keep diseases away. But what about hereditary diseases. If you have a comprehensive health insurance plan already, then it is well and good. But you may also need to know about critical illness insurance and its significance. Let's understand why a critical illness insurance policy is important.

Any critical illness requires special treatment and care. A general health insurance plan has limits on fees and hospital expenses and also might not cover the entire treatment. There is some limit based on the sum insured to what your health insurance company will pay in case of intensive medical services, and you will have to pay the rest of the medical bills from your pockets. This is where a critical illness insurance policy comes to your rescue.

A critical illness insurance policy is designed to provide you with a lump sum benefit in case you are ever diagnosed with a critical illness during the policy term. The money claimed under this plan can be used to pay for treatment, medicines, mortgage repayment, children's education, it can also be used as an income supplement, etc. If you have not prepared for any such incident and your mediclaim and employer cover is not enough to cover these high medical costs, then you should definitely purchase a critical illness insurance plan.

Following are some of the best critical illness insurance plans in India

Insurance company: Religare

(1) Plan name: Care Super Mediclaim Critical Illness Plan

• No. of illnesses covered: 32
• Key Features: Zero-day survival period, Accidental death coverage, income tax benefits
• Exclusions: Any pre-existing conditions, HIV/AIDS, congenital diseases, cosmetic, aesthetic and obesity-related treatment, infertility related treatment, war, riots and nuclear weapons-related treatment

Insurance company: Max Bupa Health Insurance

(3) Plan name: Health Assurance Criticare

• No. of illnesses covered: 20
• Key Features: 5% no claim bonus, riders available, the income tax benefit
• Exclusions: Diseases contracted in initial 90 days, HIV/AIDS, failure to seek or follow medical advice

Insurance company: Reliance General Insurance

(4) Plan name: Reliance Health Insurance Critical Illness Plan

• No. of illnesses covered: 10
• Key Features: No claim bonus, income tax benefit, 1 year and 3-year payment option

Insurance company: Reliance General Insurance

(5) Plan name: Total health Plan 1

• No. of illnesses covered: 17
• Key Features: Hospitalisation benefit, medical reimbursement benefit, income tax benefit
• Exclusions: Disease contracted in initial 90 days, dental treatment or surgery, HIV/AIDS

Insurance company: Reliance General Insurance

(6) Plan name: Total health Plan 2

• No. of illnesses covered: 17
• Key Features: Hospitalisation benefit, medical reimbursement benefit, income tax benefit
• Exclusions: Disease contracted in initial 90 days, dental treatment or surgery, HIV/AIDS

Insurance company: HDFC ERGO General Insurance

(7) Plan name: Critical Illness Plan

• No. of illnesses covered: 15
• Key features: Income tax benefits
• Exclusions: Disease contracted in initial 90 days, war and terrorist attacks, HIV/AIDS, Venereal diseases

• Survival period: Most of the critical illness insurance plans comes with a clause related to the survival period of the insured. Depending on the illness, the patient should survive for a minimum period of 30 days after the diagnosis of the disease to make a claim under the policy.

• Built-in coverage: Critical illness insurance policy aims to offer financial cover against critical illnesses and support to the family. Some health insurance companies provide built-in benefits such as child education allowance, complementary health check-up, and personal accident cover, to ensure that your loved ones are least affected in your illness.

• Total ailments covered: It is crucial to check the total illnesses covered under a critical illness insurance policy.

• Pre-existing ailments: Some critical illness insurance plans cover pre-existing ailments after a certain period of time. However, there are policies which do not cover pre-existing ailments at all. Hence it is important to know what all is covered and what not before buying a policy.

• Free-look period: Most health insurance companies offer a free-look period of 15 days for you to review the policy document before making a final decision. You can request cancellation of a policy in case the plan is not fitting well with your needs. The cost of treatment of critical illnesses is sky-high. Hence, having a separate critical illness insurance policy will help you in hard times. It will not only help your treatment but will also take care of your family’s needs.

Recommended Link: What are the advantages of family health policy & critical illness cover?