Win the Battle Against Critical Illness With Critical Illness Rider

 

You walk in to your office and are surprised to find your close colleague back. You didn’t expect him to re-join so soon after his sudden and major heart procedure.On talking to him, you realise that his treatment by a renowned specialist in one of India’s top hospitals, made all the difference. You ask him how he managed the high costs, and he smiles. He simply answers that the critical illness rider with his term life insurance plan took care of it all. Now, he has to just look ahead.

Critical illnesses don’t just happen to others. They can happen to you too. Are you prepared? Here are some statistics to make you sit up.

In India, every year, more than 10 lakh new cases of cancer are diagnosed. In 2012*, estimated 6-7 lakh people died of cancer. If not cured at an initial stage, treatment for advanced cases costs Rs 12 lakh annually#. In India, four people die of heart attack every minute, with most afflictions being in the 30-50 age group**. A heart transplant is seriously expensive, costing around Rs 14 lakh, including the year-long post-operative care

If these facts have jolted you to protect you and your family, here is a simple and cost effective way. Buy a critical illness rider along with your life insurance plan.

A critical illness rider financially empowers you to get the best possible treatment without worrying about costs, in case the Life Assured is diagnosed with a Critical Illness. The premium for the critical illness insurance depends on factors such as the age, number of diseases covered, insurance amount and medical history.

Critical illness plans are generally available as riders and can be attached to life insurance. They are also available as standalone plans. Typically, most standalone critical illness plans have shorter tenures and have limited renewal options. Few of them may offer tenures of 5 years or more. When you buy a critical illness rider with a life insurance plan, the coverage from the rider is for the long tenure of the plan. Further, taking a critical illness cover with a term plan ensures that you also enjoy large life coverage at an affordable premium that a term plan provides.

HDFC Life’s Click 2Protect Plus not only provides you the benefits of a flexible online term plan but also allows you to attach a critical illness plus rider. The insurance amount is not based on re-imbursement i.e. you do not need to provide the proof of your expense. It pays the entire insurance amount as lump sum on the diagnosis of the disease. This is particularly helpful as critical illnesses often cause significant loss of income during and after the period of treatment.

The rider provides coverage for 19 major diseases including diseases like cancer of specified severity; first heart attack of specified severity etc.

A standout feature of HDFC Life critical illness plus rider is that it provides coverage with a minimum number of exclusions i.e. basically conditions wherein benefits are unavailable. For instance, pre-existing diseases i.e. ailments existing at the time of buying insurance, are either not covered or covered after some years. Minimum number of exclusions for the HDFC Life Critical Illness Plus rider ensures that you have a far better chance of getting financial support on detection of a critical illness.

While deciding on the right amount of critical illness cover, take into account aspects like possible period of income loss, time for rehabilitation, besides providing for regular expenses. Critical illnesses are a far greater threat to our family finances than what most of us reckon. Luckily, smart options like critical illness riders exist which can be attached to term plans. They can provide the financial security we need, to protect ourselves from critical illnesses.

• *http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(14)70115-9/abstract
• #http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/Defeated-by-High-Costs-Cancer-Patients-Give-Up-on-Treatment/2014/06/19/article2288205.ece1
• **http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/attention-young-india-take-care-of-your-heart/article5460388.ece
• **http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hearts-meant-for-transplants-end-up-in-trash/articleshow/18066828.cms

• Critical Illness Insurance Comparison
• Understanding Critical Illness Insurance
• Difference between Health Insurance and Mediclaim