THE PIONEER IN LIFE INSURANCE, HDFC STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE UNFOLDS THE 5 REAL REASONS TO BUY LIFE INSURANCE

We all put efforts to make future secured and safe but none of us are sure what is stored for us in future, even in the near most moments to come. While this poses a huge uncertainty, we still can have some plans for future to cope up and sustain through the unforeseen situation that might arise, however much tough it might be. An unexpected death of the earning member of the family brings the functionality of the family to a collapse due to the financial dependence on that person. To reduce these types of adversities, life insurances with its different customer-friendly variants come as a much-needed relief to the immediate family of the deceased person.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance is the joint collaboration between Indian company HDFC Limited and the United Kingdom counterpart of Standard Life Group. Since its inception in 2000, HDFC Standard Life Insurance has managed to grow tremendously and attained a significant position in the insurance market in India. It operates through 568 branches and caters 700 cities across India. The company offers a diverse range of life insurance plans, either individual or group insurances which can very well cater the diverse needs of the customers like Protection, Retirement, Health, child and Investment plans.

5 Types of Insurance Plans that you must have:

Diverse Product Ranges of life HDFC Standard Life Insurance covers 5 important aspects of life. These are:

1.  Protection Plan – this includes two comprehensive term products:

• HDFC Life Click 2 Protect 3D Plus – This covers 3 ‘D’s– death, disease, and disability and there are nine options to select from. It gives protection for major milestones at different stages of life
• HDFC Life Click 2 Protect Plus – Affordable life coverage with 4 options to select. It has add-on riders

Both the plans are having Tax Benefits under Section 80C and 10D

2.  Retirement Plans – this has three products to reach the retirement goals with different options:

• HDFC Life Click 2 Retire – It is a Unit-linked plan for pension and available online. Entry and Maturity ages are 18 and 45 years respectively. This plan has tax benefit under Section 80C and 10A 
• HDFC Life Guaranteed Pension Plan – the lump sum amount of vesting benefit could be availed as well as the assured benefit upon death. The premium could be paid for 5, 7 or 10 years term. This product has tax benefit under Section 80CCC 
• HDFC Life Personal Pension Plus – This is the conventional Pension Plan that has tax benefits under Sections 80C and 10A. Customer can choose the term as well as the frequency of premium payment

3.  Health Plans – include two products to support in emergencies:

• HDFC Life Easy Health – This is a fixed benefit plan for health insurance that covers 18 illnesses and 138 surgical procedures with the benefits of daily hospital costs for individual or group health plans 
• HDFC Life Cancer Care – This has three options to select from. This gives lump sum benefit as well as tax benefit under Section 80D

4.  Child Plan – Two products under this is designed to support the child of the insured for any future eventuality.

• HDFC Life YoungStar Udaan — This plan is ideal if parents keep the academic plan of the child in mind. The plan has options for 3 maturity benefits and two death benefits to select from and has tax benefit under Section 80C and 10D 
• HDFC Life YoungStar Super Premium – this is the unit-linked plan that helps to build savings for the education and marriage of the child. There are 4 plans to choose from and gives flexible sum assured benefit and tax benefit under Sections 80C and 10D 

5. Investment Plans – Three different plans with multiple options in each plan to select and this gives the investment and saving benefits for the insured.

• HDFC Life Click 2 Invest ULIP – Online plan linked with market returns. This has minimal charges and gives 8 options to choose from with flexibility of policy terms and premium payment terms. Tax benefit under Sections 80C and 10D 
• HDFC Life Uday – gives guaranteed bonuses and additions along with lump sum benefits in case of death. Comes with option of multiple terms 
• HDFC Life Sampoorn Samridhi Plan – Having options for maturity benefits and premium payments. Tax benefits under Section 80C and 10D

These aforementioned plans cover the five most important aspects of life. These along with some combo plans and plan targeted specifically for women makes the HDFC Standard Life Insurance a unique provider to consider. Their multichannel network like Bancassurance partners, agents, brokers, direct channels and online presence makes it highly customer friendly and a pioneer in the insurance industry.

Max Bupa Health Insurance | The extended family health coverage

There are two types of health plans offered by Max Bupa Health Insurance under the heartbeat plan. One is family floater policy which aims on nuclear families and other is family first policy which is offered keeping in mind the joint family system prevailing in India.

Let us elaborate on the Heartbeat family first plan offered by Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited. The heartbeat family first plan is also called as extended family plan. This plan provides insurance up to 14 members of the family. The plan comes in 3 variants i.e. silver, gold and platinum.

Relationships covered include grandparents, self, spouse, children, parents, parents-in-law, siblings (brother and sister), daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, niece, nephew.

Family members under this plan are covered for individual sum assured as well as floating sum assured.

Individual sum assured

The policy provides an individual sum assured to the members of the family. It is same for every member of the family.

Floater sum assured

It is a pool which can be used by any family member in case their individual sum assured gets exhausted during the year.

The health insurance cover starts from Rs.5 lacs and can go up to a maximum of Rs.1 crore. A health check-up might be required at the time of buying this plan.

Features of the plan:

• Over 3500 network hospitals
• Pre and post cost of hospitalization is covered
• Claims are processes directly and not via third party
• No restriction on age for the family members
• Tax exemption u/s 80D of the income tax act
• Renewability for life
• Costs incurred towards emergency ambulance is covered
• Organ transplant expense covered up to the sum assured
• Evacuation and hospitalization cost due to medical emergencies outside India (as per applicable terms and conditions)
• Expenses incurred for OPD and prescribed medicines covered as per terms and conditions
• Costs incurred for second opinion will be covered for platinum variants members

Benefits of Max Bupa Heartbeat Family First Plan:

• Maternity benefits

Maternity benefits can be availed for 2 deliveries. However, you will have to hold the policy for a period of 2 years before availing this benefit. The new born is covered from day 1 and the vaccinations of the new born are covered only for the first year.

• No capping on room rent

The insurance plans under the gold and platinum variant have no capping over the room rent (excluding suite and above for Gold plan). The room rent is covered up to the sum assured.

• Pre and post hospitalization period

The pre and post hospitalization duration is of 60 days and 90 days respectively.

• Loyalty benefits

Each policy year, you will get loyalty benefit of 10% on the expiring sum assured which will increase your sum assured. This will be applicable till the maximum increase in sum assured is up to 100% of the original sum assured (50% in case of silver variant).

• Discount on premium

If you take the policy for a period of 2 years, you can avail a discount of 12.5% on the premium of second year.

• Hospital expenses

Hospital expenses like transportation, cost of attendant, daily expenses can be provided under this policy.

• Co-payment

It is optional to take co-payment of 10% or 20% so that premium can fit best to your pocket.

• Medical treatment abroad

Platinum variant members can avail treatment for the below 9 diseases abroad:

• Myocardial Infarction i.e. Heart Attack
• Coronary heart disease
• Cancer
• Stroke
• Organ Transplant
• Brain surgery
• Aorta surgery
• Primary PAH (Pulmonary Arterial hypertension)
• Coronary angioplasty

Waiting period for pre-existing disease

• Waiting period of 24 months for gold and platinum variants
• Waiting period of 48 months for silver variants
• In the first 30 days of policy period, no medical expenses will be covered unless treatment is required due to accident. However, this is not applicable on renewal of policies.

Exclusions under this policy include the following disease:

• HIV/AIDS
• Robotic assisted surgery
• Non-medical expenses
• Sexually infected disease
• Drug abuse

This plan offered by Max Bupa, i.e. the Heartbeat Family First Plan is an excellent one for an extended family with comprehensive benefits. If you need a complete overall package for the extended family, this is the perfect solution to all your needs!

Source: Max Bupa Health Insurance | The extended family health coverage

Secure your health with HDFC ERGO Health Insurance

In today’s time, health is like a two sided coin wherein one side is the increase in life expectancy due to advancement in medical science and other is the constant risk faced by individual that they could be prone to illness/disease due to serendipity lifestyle and eating habit. Medical insurance is a boon considering the skyrocket treatment costs and the quality of treatment desired by individuals.

Various general insurance companies have come up with health insurance plans. Among all of them, HDFC Ergo offers the best plan and the variations in plans suits to the pocket of every person.

Broadly, the health insurance plans are categorized into two sections:

1.       Indemnity Plan

2.       Lump sum Plan

INDEMNITY PLAN

Indemnity plans reimburses the factual i.e. real financial loss suffered by the policy holder. This coverage is however, subject to the sum assured limit.

Common features provided by HDFC ERGO under the indemnity plans are:

·         Coverage of pre hospitalization and post hospitalization expenses

·         Expenses of emergency ambulance

·         Benefit of cumulative bonus

·         Medical check-up

·         Cost of in-patient treatment

·         Benefit of AYUSH (non-allopathic treatment)

Plans offered by HDFC Ergo under the indemnity health insurance are as follows:

1.       Health Suraksha

Main features:

·         Cumulative bonus after each claim free year

·         Health check-up costs covered after 4 years of no claim

·         No capping on room rents, doctor fees, hospital costs and specified diseases.

2.       Health Suraksha with regain and Enhance Cummulative Bonus (ECB)

Along with the basic features provided by the health suraksha plan, the additional advantage provided by this plan is:

·         Policy holder gets automatic availability of the sum assured in case it gets exhausted.

·         Cummulative bonus is enhanced to 10% up to a maximum of 100% of the original sum assured.

3.       Health Suraksha Gold

Additional benefits provided by this plan is

·         Maternity benefits (though it has a waiting period of 4 years)

·         Insurance cover to the new born baby

·         Expenses of the recuperating phase i.e. the recovery phase is covered if the policy holder was hospitalized for a period exceeding 10 days.

·         E-opinion provided in case diagnosed with critical illness

4.       Health Suraksha Gold with regain and ECB

Along with the features provided for health suraksha gold plan, additional benefit of this plan is:

·         Provides availability of basic sum assured in case it gets exhausted.

·         Cumulative bonus is of 10% every year up to a maximum of 100% of sum assured.

5.       My health medisure classic

Main features:

·         Discount of 5% in case policy bought for 2 years

·         Restoration of sum assured in case it gets exhausted due to accident.

·         Covers maternity and new born

6.       My health medisure super top-up

This policy can be bought with the existing insurance cover and provides enhanced coverage at low premiums. It can be bought even if you don’t have an already existing health insurance.

·         No medical tests required up to 55 years of age provided you have no Pre-Existing disease

·         Premium is constant at 61 years of age and above.

·         Policy can be renewed for life.

·         Discount of 10% on the premium if two or more than two members are covered for individual sum assured (in same policy)

LUMP SUM PLAN

Lump sum plan is a unique plan in which the policy holder is paid a lump sum amount i.e. the entire sum assured if any of the covered illness or disease occurs. HDFC Ergo offeres two plans under the lump sum plan category.

1.       Critical illness Silver

In this plan, 9 illnesses are covered, they are:

1.       Stroke

2.       Failure of Kidney

3.       Organ transplant

4.       Bypass surgery

5.       Paralysis

6.       Aorta graft surgery

7.       Multiple sclerosis

8.       Heart Attack

9.       Cancer

Upon the diagnosis of any of the above illness, the policy holder will be provided a lump sum amount to avail the treatment.

Additional benefits are:

·         Takes care of expenses incurred during treatment and recovery phase

·         Provides income lost due to aging factor and money for reasons like change in lifestyle

2.       Critical illness Platinum

This plan is same as the silver plan. The additional benefit is it covers 15 illnesses (i.e. 9 illnesses of the silver plan + Additional 6 illnesses). Below are the additional illnesses covered:

1.       Parkinson’s disease

2.       Liver disease (last stage)

3.       Alzheimer’s disease

4.       Replacement of heart valve

5.       Benign brain tumor

6.       Preliminary pulmonary arterial hypertension

With so many benefits under each plan offered and pocket-friendly options provided by HDFC ERGO, deciding to buy a health cover has become very simplistic task. You can buy a health cover online and calculate your premium with the help of premium calculator tool available online on the website of HDFC Ergo.

Source:  Secure your health with HDFC ERGO Health Insurance

Get best health coverage for our family from Religare Health Insurance

Religare Health Insurance Company is an entity that comes under the group of Religare Enterprise Limited, Corporation Bank and Union Bank of India. Though the company offers almost all types of insurance ranging from two-wheeler to Term Life Insurance, its health insurance and term life insurance have gained popularity over the years due to their excellent features and benefits. The company has been in existence for several years now and many people from different parts of the country have availed numerous benefits from its insurance plans. The health insurance cover provided by Religare are best suited for individuals as well as their family members.

The lifestyle and thought process of the current generation has changed significantly as compared to their predecessors. Nowadays due to hectic life schedule and busy work routine, most of the individuals are looking to lead a life that is stress free and devoid of any uncertainties. One such uncertainty is the emergency medical situation that can appear out of nowhere. To tackle this unforeseen situation, Religare has devised a health cover that can take care of all such medical situations. Customers who avail their benefits do not need to worry about medical emergencies any more. These policies provide a safeguard against expensive medical treatments which otherwise would have been very difficult for the customers to bear on their own.

Key Plans offered by Religare Health Insurance Policy

Religare health insurance policies are very competitive in the market and provide some of the best health care plans. There are numerous plans which insured can avail, some of which are listed below:

Comprehensive Health Coverage: The Comprehensive Health Coverage plan at Religare is known as CARE. This plan has been designed to take care of all your medical needs. Through this plan, Religare aims to provide all the medical benefits and features to all the members of the family under a single umbrella. Some of the special features of this plan are No limit on ICU charges, cover for ambulance charges, availability of no-claim bonus and domiciliary cover. The plan comes at a very reasonable amount of premium which does not put any burden to the pockets of the insured.

Additional Plans

Religare also presents to its customers, some of the customized plans that they can choose from based on the medical needs of themselves and their family. Although majority of the features remain the same, these plans have been tweaked a little keeping in mind the financial status of all the customers. Some of these customized plans are listed below:

Super Saver Plan: This plan is designed for those individuals who want a medical cover of up to 4 lakhs. This plan provides most of the basic benefits to the insured and works best for the common people who fall in the average salary bracket.

Elite: As per the name, this plan is devised for elite set of customers who are looking for additional benefits and top up and are willing to pay a higher premium. This plan includes the sum assured of 5, 7 and 10 lakhs.

Elite Plus: The next level of health cover offered by Religare is called the Elite Plus. This provides five possible coverage amounts viz 15,20,25,30 and 40 lakh. This is suitable for corporates who are looking for some of the finest medical insurance services.

Global and Global Plus: The next level of plan that is generally suitable for very rich and extremely prosperous individuals are the global and global plus plans. Both these plans provide extreme benefits to individuals and their family. Accordingly, the insured has to pay a very high amount of premium to take this cover.

Health Insurance has now become the need of the hour. Arguably this is one of the most important and must to have insurance cover for individuals and their family members. The biggest truth of life is that it is very uncertain and unpredictable. You cannot control your life but you can certainly take precautionary cover that can empower you to tackle unforeseen situations in life. This precautionary cover is nothing but insurance. So, in case you have still not thought about it till now, it’s the right time to give it your attention so that you can secure your future in your present.

Source: Get best health coverage for our family from Religare Health Insurance

Unique features and benefits of Religare Health Insurance Policy

One of the most popular insurance policies in India is health insurance although a large sector of people still pay their hospital bills out of pocket. This is because of either negligence or ignorance. For us, it makes sense to weigh the pros and cons of health insurance and avail the same at the earliest!

Health insurance provides dual benefits to the insured. One, this provides a financial cover to the insured to meet his financial needs in case of any medical emergency. Second, it also provides him with an opportunity to avail some of the best medical services from the hospital centres of his choice. Both these features are extremely important and in the absence of any such health insurance cover, it would have been very difficult for the insured to take care of his medical needs. Thus, health insurance is not only important but unavoidable!

One such company that is gaining more and more importance recently is the Religare Health insurance company. This insurance company has come up with various innovative plans with extremely interesting features and benefits that are sufficient to meet the medical needs of an individual and his family members. Religare enjoys an extremely high success rate and all the people who have availed insurance services from Religare have been extremely satisfied with its services. It is a specialist insurance provider whose motive is to provide the best insurance services to its clients. Through its robust distribution model and excellent services, it has been able to bring a smile on the face of all its customers.

Key Features of Religare Health Cover

Sum Insured: The insurance policy cover provides multiple options of selecting the sum insured. The sum insured varies from as low as 2 lakh to as high as 6 crores. This has been designed keeping in mind the different needs and requirements of the individuals. While the cover of 2 lakh is basic and is suitable to family with low income, an amount of 6 crore is suitable for HNIs.

No-claim bonus: In case an insured does not make any claim in a policy period, he is eligible to take a no-claim bonus discount or offer in the next policy period.

Health Check-up: Religare health cover provides the insured the benefits of doing annual health check-up to a certain limit. These checks up are essential and one should get them done on a regular basis.

PAN India Network: Another important feature of the health policy is that individual can get the hospitalization done at any of the network hospital based on his needs and convenience.

Renewability: Life-long renewability option is available with health cover policy from Religare. In addition to this, there is no pre-policy check-up required under the care freedom plan.

Waiting period: Waiting period of 2 years is required in case of any pre-existing disease of the insured.

Coverage: Almost all the health insurance policies provided by Religare provide insurance cover for an individual as well as his family members.

Long-term policy: Instead of taking a single year policy and renewing it every year, an individual can go for a combined three year plan which will mean increased benefits at reduced price.

Customized Plans: If an insured is not satisfied with the default plans offered by Religare, he can still go for customized plans where he can try and tweak the plan based on his medical needs.

Benefits of Religare Health Insurance Cover

One stop shop: Religare health insurance policy is a policy for all. You do not have to worry about the financial status of your family when you approach Religare. They have a plan for all the strata of society and offer numerous benefits under one roof.

Personal Attention: An insured can count on them when he needs it the most. In case of any difficulties during purchasing the policy or filing a claim, Religare can provide the insured all the attention he needs.

Hassle free process: The entire process of querying about the policy, buying the policy and filing the claim has been made online. You can now purchase a health insurance with Religare in just a matter of few minutes.

So, when it comes to offering insurance cover, Religare is way ahead of its competitors in terms of convenience and affordability.

Source: Unique features and benefits of Religare Health Insurance Policy

Things to be Aware While Buying a Health Insurance Policy

With changing times, insurance companies have become more customer friendly by ensuring that insurance agents are available across the country and a 24/7 customer care available throughout the year. Also, internet has proved to be a game changer as you can get information about all policies offered by various insurance service providers.

Since insuring your health has become a simplistic task, sometimes, it can also lead to last minute surprises. However, there are a few checklists which if you are aware of will help you get an insurance policy which will suit you as well as your family's needs.

List of Network Hospitals

Network hospitals are the list of hospitals wherein the policy holder can claim cashless facility and get treated at the hospital without paying anything from his pocket. Network hospitals are most preferred for planned surgeries/treatment and medical emergencies. An insurance service provider having extensive list of network hospitals is an advantage to the policy holder as he can avail the best medical treatment possible in case of medical needs.

Sum Insured of the Health Insurance Policy

Sum insured is the maximum amount of claim which can be made during a year by the insurance policy holder in case of hospitalization. Any claim above the sum insured amount will have to be borne by the policy holder. For instance, you have a sum insured for Rs.1 lac, you got hospitalized during the year and the treatment costed Rs.1.50 Lacs. In such case, the insurance service provider will entertain claims up to Rs. 1 lac and the balance Rs.50,000/- will be borne by you.

Sum insured plays a pivotal role not only in determining the premium paid by you but also, an adequate sum insured gives you a peace of mind in case of medical emergencies. While taking a policy, the inflating medical costs and the number of members to be insured should be taken into account for the purpose of arriving at sum insured.

Room rent limits

Hospitals have different categories of room like Single room, double sharing etc. wherein the room rent per day varies. Generally, the capping on room rent is 1% of the sum insured. Suppose, your sum insured is Rs.4 lacs, then the limit of room rent will be Rs.4,000/-. This means that if the room rent is above than this, not only the room rent but all the expenses relating to hospitalization will be borne by the policy holder proportionately.

Claim Process of the Insurance service provider

Claim process should be simple, convenient and hassle free. It should not be tedious or a process wherein too many approvals are required to get the amount reimbursed. Also, customer care assistance particularly for the claim process and intimation regarding the processing of claim via SMS or email ensures that the process is consumer friendly.

Fine prints of the policy

Once the policy is issued and delivered to the policy holder, he should read the fine prints i.e. the terms and conditions of the policy to avoid last minute surprises.For example few ailments like ovarian disease, diabetes, ENT disorders, hypertension, osteoporosis, hernia etc. might have a waiting period clause in the policy document.

Top ups provided by the insurance service provider

A top up is an additional cover apart from the existing sum insured.Keeping in mind the ever increasing treatment cost, various insurance companies have come up with top up plans which support your medical expenses in case your medical expenses cross the sum insured limit.

No claim bonus

No claim bonus is a discount provided by the insurance company for not claiming or availing benefits under the medical insurance. This bonus is provided at the time of renewal of policy in form of discount in premium. Ideally, the health insurance policy should be renewed within 30 days of the due date to enjoy the benefits of no claim bonus.

Health insurance policy available Online

Various websites provide information regarding the plans provided by the insurance service providers. These websites help you compare the plans and suggest you the one which best fits your pocket. They also, offer discounts and other add on benefits which can help you take a desired plan.

Being well informed about the benefits provided by health insurance companies will help you insure your health needs in the long term.

Source: Things to be Aware While Buying a Health Insurance Policy

What are the things to avoid while buying health insurance policy?

Health is wealth is the most commonly used proverb when it comes to health. It holds true in entirety as you won’t be able to enjoy your desires if you don’t have health on your side. Sedentary lifestyles have made individuals more prone to health related issues. Buying a health insurance is a more of a necessity than a luxury. Keeping in mind the rising medical costs and inflation rate, an unwarranted medical emergency might create a big hole in your pocket.

You can buy a health insurance from various modes which are:

• Insurance Agent
• Directly from the Insurance service provider or
• Online

However, there are few things which can help to avoid making these mistakes while buying a health insurance policy.

• Relying only on the group insurance provided by the employer

Many a times, professionals do notbuya separate health insurance policy as they are already covered under the corporate plan. But despite of being covered by a group insurance policy, there can be a time lag in between job switch or unwarranted situations like unemployment wherein he and his family can be uninsured.

• Insuring your health too late

Buying a health insurance plan at an early age has its own sets of benefits. In the early ages, you will be less prone to diseases and there will be no pre-existing medical ailments, which will result in lower premiums. Availing a policy late in life might require medical check-ups and also, a rise in premium.

• Co-payments and Deductibles

In co-payment, the policy holder accepts to pay a fixed percentage of the hospital bill from his pockets. In return, the insurance service provider takes lesser premium. Co-payment can be a compulsory clause in the senior citizen health insurance plan.

Deductibles are like co-payments, the only difference being is in deductibles, a fixed amount is specified in the policy document instead of a percentage.

Co-payment as well as deductibles is cost-sharing clause in health insurance policy. A person buying a health insurance should avoid such clauses.

• Hiding Information regarding your health in the application form

Providing correct and accurate information regarding the policy holder’s and his family member’s health is vital to the insurance company. It provides a peace of mind to the person buying insurance and helps the insurance company to calculate the appropriate premium. While applying for a health insurance, avoid filling inaccurate or false information which might lead to confusion and non-entertainment of claims.

• Comparison of policies on the basis of premium

Generally, people compare two products or services on the basis of price. But in case of health insurance, a low premium by the insurance service provider might mean exclusion of certain disease. Exclusion of diseases means there could be few ailments which you or family can be impacted due to family history or lifestyle. Such health policy might not serve the purpose for which you have bought them and in case of illness, you might end up paying the hospitalization expenses from your pockets.

• Only purpose to buy policy is to save tax

Premium paid on health insurance is liable for exemption under section 80D of the Income tax act. The exemption limit is:

• 25,000/- for self, spouse and dependent children
• 30,000/- for senior citizens

Many a times, individuals end up buying health policy keeping in mind the tax exemption and do not pay much attention to the ailments covered and benefits provided by the policy.

• Not looking at the policy after it is received

Once the policy is issued and delivered, you should check your personal details like name of the policy holder, family members covered the health I-card of each member. In case of any discrepancies, contact the respective agent or the insurance company and ask them to make the necessary changes. This is because when a medical emergency situation arises, you don’t want to be wasting time by coordinating with the insurance service provider which ends up delaying the approval process.

• Not reading the policy conditions

It is very important to be aware about the policy terms and conditions which ensure you take the right decision while buying a health policy and are not left disappointed.

• Not knowing other options available

Various policy options are available at the click of a mouse. There are websites which help you compare the policies offered by different insurance companies and help you make the right choice.

So, if you are planning to buy an insurance plan for you and your family, avoiding the above aspects will definitely help you in taking the right decision.

Source:  What are the things to avoid while buying health insurance policy?

POST NAVIGATION

Is critical illness insurance a good idea?

Rajesh was a healthy 30-year-old lawyer. However, since there was a history of cancer in his family, he was very cautious while buying insurance. He had seen how his father’s treatment had left the family almost penniless and so he wanted to ensure the same thing didn’t happen if he was diagnosed with the illness. So he bought  illness insurance plan and secured his finances as well his family’s well being. 

A critical health plan is a very good type of insurance that provides financial assistance if the policyholder is diagnosed with a crucial illness. Take a look at this article to understand how a illness plan works and why you must opt for it.

What is a critical illness plan?                        

A critical illness plan is a kind of insurance where the policyholder is paid a lump sum amount of money if he or she is diagnosed with a crucial illness. The insurer provides a list of illnesses classified as illnesses when the policy is being bought. If the policyholder contracts any of the diseases during the policy period, he or she receives the monetary benefit and is free to use the sum in any way he or she wishes.

crucial ill health insurance is available as standalone plans as well riders along with health insurance plans and life insurance plans.

Benefits:

Let us now take a quick look at the benefits of a illness plan.

·         Provides financial support: This is the biggest advantage of buying a critical ill health plan. Getting diagnosed with a major illness like a stroke or a heart attack may be distressing, but dealing with the finances at such a time becomes all the more difficult. Healthcare costs are very high these days and without proper insurance, you can’t even think about getting treated at a good medical facility. And since the treatment of the crucial ill health cost a lot of money, a regular health plan is never enough. The sum assured from a crucial illness plan proves to be very handy at such a time.

·         Income substitute: As mentioned, the insurance provider doesn’t check how you are spending the sum assured you received from the critical health plan. So instead of just paying the hospital bills, you can also use the money to act as an income substitute if your illness leaves you temporarily or permanently unemployed.

·         Clear dues: You can use the money from your health plan to clear dues such as home loans, credit card bills, etc so that if something were to happen to you in the aftermath of the diagnosis, your family members would not be harassed by the lenders. This is yet another helpful advantage of a health plan.

·         Continue with your savings: If you have a health plan in place, you don't have to dip into your savings or prematurely break any investments to pay your medical bills. You can safely continue with your savings and deal with the medical bills with the sum assured you receive from the critical illness policy.

Points to remember before buying a critical illness plan

There are a few important points that you must remember before you buy a health insurance plan. They are:

1.     There is a waiting period associated with the illness plans. Different insurers have different specifications, but you have to wait for about three months from the time you buy the policy to make a claim. You cannot get the benefit if you already have the illness when you buy the plan.

2.     There is a difference between a standalone health plan and a plan rider. In a standalone critical illness policy, if a claim is made, the sum assured is paid out and the policy is terminated. In the case of a rider, the critical illness cover is paid but the principal health or life insurance policy continues to remain functional.

The bottom line:

It indeed is a very good idea to go for a critical health plan. With such a plan you are assured of a solid financial backup when you need it the most. So what are you waiting for? Buy a critical health plan today if you haven’t done so already and secure your health as well as the financial well being of your family.

Source:  Is critical illness insurance a good idea?