How to Choose between Critical Illness Plan & Disease Specific Insurance Plans?

Nowadays, there are a wide range of health insurance plans available to customers. A gamut of options and competitive pricing deals are there due to multiple insurance providers in the fray. But it's essential to select the health insurance plan that's best suited for your needs. While all health insurance plans may outwardly appear to be similar, they can be vastly different. That's why it's important to delve into the details of each plan and then figure out which one would be most beneficial for you. Two of the most common policies offered these days are critical illness insurance plan and disease specific insurance plan. There are crucial differences between the two that need to be kept in mind.

What's a Disease Specific Insurance Plan?

Disease specific insurance plan is only meant for a particular disease. It covers the full treatment cost of the disease, from diagnosis to hospitalization to treatment and medications. As it covers only one disease, this plan costs less than the critical illness plan. This is the ideal insurance plan for those who are looking for affordable health insurance against a particular disease they think they are susceptible due to lifestyle or hereditary reasons.

When to Choose Disease Specific Insurance Plan?

A disease specific insurance can be bought for diseases like diabetes, kidney disorders, stroke, heart problems etc. With the pandemic, insurance companies are also providing a cover plan for Covid-19. Anyone diagnosed with the mentioned diseases is eligible to claim a lump sum for treatment.

These plans usually don't have any waiting period and can be purchased instantly. Claim can be made as soon as the disease is diagnosed and payment would be disbursed after the verification process is complete. While buying a Disease-specific insurance plan, the customer should know very well about the diseases and the possible expenses. Based on these calculations, he should decide the right policy amount.

Critical Illness Insurance Plan

As the name suggests, Critical Illness Insurance policy covers life-threatening and terminal diseases like cancer, cardiac arrest, kidney a, severe burns. Once the claim is successful, the insurer pays a lump sum to cover the cost of treatment. There are no limitations on how the sum has to be used. It can be availed for treatment, hospitalization expenses, medications and even for recuperating. Minimum premium amount in Niva Bupa Critical Illness plan is Rs. 3 Lakhs and the maximum is Rs. 2 Crores.

Usually, up to 20 lethal diseases are covered under the Critical Illness Insurance plan. Because it offers more exhaustive protection against multiple diseases, you will have to shell more money than the disease-specific plan. Waiting Period of this policy is mostly 3 months. So, a claim cannot be submitted within 3 months of policy purchase. Also, after the diagnosis of the disease, the patient should be able to survive for a minimum of 30 days before claim is accepted. However, there are insurers that provide plans in less than 30 days as well. Factors like medical history, age, family record of any hereditary diseases etc. should be considered while purchasing the plan.

Conclusion:

With a wide variety of health insurance plans available, it’s of utmost importance to determine the one most suitable for you while buying health insurance. Different people have different health needs based on an array of factors like age, lifestyle, existing medical conditions and family record. Disease specific insurance plan and critical illness insurance plan are two of the most popular ones. The former provides coverage only against one particular disease and has the advantage of low-premium and zero waiting period. The latter offers coverage against more than a dozen lethal diseases like cancer. Health is the only true wealth, so take good care of it and get a health insurance plan that best fits you. Long-term benefits of health insurance are simply worth buying a policy.