Which critical illness insurance policy is good in India?

Introduction

Cancer comes like a tornado that holds the capability to disrupt a family’s status quo in every possible manner. 

In India, most of the population belongs to the middle and the crate beneath them. If any family member is affected, it means exhausting all your savings because cancer treatments are a pricey deal.

According to We Care Health Services, cancer treatment in India varies from US$ 10,000 to US$ 40,000. Now, there are multiple types of cancer, and the treatment and requirements change as per the circumstances. 

The cost in India might be reasonable and affordable in the eyes of the citizens from developed nations. Still, these numbers are enough to make a family go bankrupt in India because the minimum cost of cancer treatment in India is equivalent to twice the average Indian’s annual income.

Cancer can devastate a family’s economic balance, apart from having an emotional scar. Therefore, it is always better to be safe than sorry and bankrupt. 

This blog will help you in learning, 

  • What is cancer policy and its importance?
  • Which is the best cancer insurance plan one should consider buying in 2022?

What is a Critical Illness Insurance Plan?

Health insurance is a tool that will guard your savings if you meet with any medical emergencies. Still, they aren’t capable of handling the expenses if diagnosed with any deadly disease. It is why owning critical illness insurance is mandatory. 

Regular health insurance cannot cater to your cancer needs, as they are weaved to cover emergency hospital expenses (does not cover chronic ailments). 

Cancer is a critical illness, and to bear the cost to deal with it, one needs to have critical illness plans or insurance policies specially designed to handle cancer-related expenditure. Cancer expenses are vast and have multiple hospitals and non-hospitalization charges that are not covered by standard health insurance coverage.

Therefore, a cancer insurance policy is specially curated to cover all cancer-related (hospital and non-hospital expenditures) and help you keep your savings intact. Cancer policies pay a percentage of the lump sum to the policyholder when the life insured is diagnosed with cancer. The allocation of the percentage shall vary depending upon the stages of cancer.  

Under the cancer insurance plan, the policyholder can spend the lump sum however they want to use it at different places. 

However, cancer insurance also comes with exceptions; not every type of cancer is included in the plan, which is why you should first read through the plan before buying it. 

Importance and Need for Critical Illness Insurance

As per experts, one out of ten males and one out of eight women in India have the possibility to be diagnosed with cancer after the age of 35. Males have a chance 4.75% and females have a 2.16% chance of acquiring tobacco-related cancer and tumors between the ages of 35 and 70.’

Cancer insurance has become a mandate because this catastrophe can strike anyone irrespective of hereditary. And, with the escalating expense of medical treatments, a cancer patient’s economic duties would be severely impacted. 

If we look at the first 6 months of the cancer treatment, it might include chemotherapy sessions, radiation, getting admitted to the hospital, and surgery at times. 

Once you are diagnosed with cancer, it becomes emotionally and physically tiring and becomes economically burdening. Because the things mentioned above would cost somewhere around 20 lakhs, and if someone saves a decent amount, this one disease is enough to exhaust the reserve. It is why having critical illness insurance becomes mandatory. Though cancer isn’t limited to those with one running in the family history, it is always wise to opt for a plan if it is hereditary. 

If you want to avail a cancer insurance policy, it isn’t necessary to have any pre-existing cancer-related conditions to qualify for cancer insurance. However, if someone is already diagnosed and treated for cancer, they are ineligible to apply for the insurance.

Best Cancer Insurance Plan to Buy in India for 2022

Annually, over 10 lakh people are diagnosed with cancer, out of which around 7 lakh die due to lack of treatment, and the sole reason is pricey cancer treatment. Moreover, people below the poverty line are unaware of insurance, eliminating their chance of awareness and economic support.

After understanding cancer insurance and its importance, let us go through the best cancer insurance policies that one can consider buying for 2022. They are as follows:

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Cancer Shield Plan 

This cancer protection plan by the ABSLI swears to protect the policyholder right from the initial stage of cancer by providing them with a lump sum. With rapidly evolving lifestyles and the adoption of new habits, cancer has become more prevalent in our lives. Therefore, ABSLI Cancer Shield Plan monetarily safeguards your funds against critical illness. Will it harm your pocket to have a safety net available at 120 per month for Rs.10 lakhs for 20 years policy term?

If not, then here are some of the features of this efficient plan are as follows:

Premium Waiver Benefit: As per this feature, if the life insured is diagnosed with cancer, the insurance company shall waive off the premium that needs to be paid by the policyholder. They are relieved from paying the premiums for the coming 5 years or until the policy expires (whichever event comes first), beginning with the following premium deadline and concluding with the date of diagnosis.

Other Policy Benefits: Under this benefit, if the policyholder is diagnosed at an early stage in cancer, the insurance company will release 30% of the sum assured. The remaining 70% shall be released when diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer. Moreover, if the life insured gets diagnosed with the critical stage at the first diagnosis, they are eligible to avail 100% of the assured sum.

Income Benefits: Under this benefit, if the life insured is in the advanced stage of cancer, they can avail of a monthly income equivalent to 1% of the insured amount for another 5 years. They also have a death benefit linked with them. Here, the beneficiary pays the income benefit if the life insured dies while the plan is active.

Grace Period & Reinstatement: As the name suggests, you get 30 days of compassion phase here. Here, if the life insured cannot pay the premium by the given deadline, they will have an extra month to do so. Furthermore, they continue to have unrestricted access to the leverages in the plan. However, the cancer shield will be terminated if you fail to pay the premium, including the revised amount.

Tax Benefit: Like every insurance, the life insured is entitled to tax benefits under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act (1961).

Exceptions are as follows:

  • Tumors like – benign, borderline malignant, or low malignant potential
  • Carcinoma in-situ of skin and Melanoma in-situ
  • Dysplasia, Intraepithelial Neoplasia, or squamous intraepithelial lesions 

Conclusion

Buying a cancer insurance plan has become a mandate. And, when you are aware that cancer can disrupt the status quo of your living, why would you want to risk your loved ones with financial distress?

The best possible preventive measure is to buy a cancer insurance plan that can save you and your family from an economic crunch. And, when purchasing, always opt for the best and credible because a wrong plan is as good as dead meat in real life. 

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