Insurance for critical illness is more relevant today than ever before. With the mounting stress and anxiety factors taking a toll on an individual, critical illness insurance is obligatory. Largely, in terms of definition of critical illness insurance, we mean an insurance product, in which the insurer has to pay a lump sum, in case he is diagnosed with any of the pre-defined illnesses determined in an insurance policy per se.
Depending on the company proposing the said insurance policy, there might be varied clauses, where the policyholder would need to withstand the illness for a minimal number of days from the time that the illness was first diagnosed; this is known to be the ‘survival period’.
The objective to have a critical illness insurance cover is to provide a financial cushion to the policyholder and the family following the diagnosis and/or treatment of a critical illness. Typically, in this type of insurance product, depending on the service provider, either a pre-determined lump sum is paid out at one go or is paid out in a phased manner, often depending on the choices opted for by the policy holder. From a global perspective, there are also critical illness insurance service providers who provide an option to travel to specialised hospitals in other countries in order to receive treatment. These types of insurance policies are pretty rare and do include the travel and accommodation expenses for the policyholder along with a companion.
Among the various service providers providing critical illness insurance, Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+ is a product which stands out from the rest and thus it could be considered as being among the best insurance companies in India. The benefits of Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+ are several:
1. A large insurance coverage: the range of the total sum insured may range from a minimum of INR 5 lakhs to a maximum of INR 1 Crore.
2. The premium comes cheap: in view of the fact that the maximum sum insured may go up to a crore (INR), the modest premium that would be needed for a single claim option, would be INR 1,000 per month excluding taxes for one crore, given the fact that the individual is of 25 years of age and is a non smoker.
3. The age limit: the range of the age limit provided by Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+ is also the best that one could ask for in today’s market, beginning at 18 years and going up to a maximum of 65 years.
The Edelweiss Tokio Life – CritiCare+ critical illness insurance policy also entertains seventeen critical illnesses; listing just a few below:
- The First Heart Attack
- Kidney Failure for which regular Dialysis would be required
- Major Organ Transplant (Heart, Kidney)
- Stroke Resulting in Permanent Symptoms (e.g. complete paralysis)
- Cancer of Specified Severity
- Brain Tumours
- Major Burns
- Total Blindness
However, there are some other illnesses, which would not be considered critical, like
- Any sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) or related complications and/or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or the presence HIV.
- Any self-inflicted injuries, like suicide attempt, caused by insanity, or any criminal act.
- Use of intoxicating drugs / alcohol / solvent, taking of drugs except under the direction of a qualified medical practitioner.
- War – whether declared or not, civil commotion, breach of law, invasion, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), rebellion, revolution, military or usurped power or wilful participation in acts of violence.
- Radioactive contamination due to nuclear accident.
These can be covered through other medical insurance products.
