Term, Endowment, Money Back and Mediclaim, all of these names seems to be familiar to you but when it comes to Critical illness policy most of you are unaware about the benefits of this policy. Those who are familiar with the name of this policy often club it with either Mediclaim or buy it as rider under life insurance policy. Trust us there is huge difference in the features and benefits of this policy and the Mediclaim.

While Mediclaim reimburses your medical bills in case of hospitalisation due to accident or an illness, Critical Illness policy will payout the full Sum Assured in case of diagnose of any of the critical disease specified in the policy document.

Yes, you read it correctly, sum assured will be paid in case of diagnose of the disease and not in case of hospitalisation due to disease. Under the critical illness policy it is not compulsory for the person to go for treatment in order to get claim from the insurance company (although you will definitely go for the treatment), also claim amount is paid irrespective of the cost of treatment. It’s the full sum assured which you will receive upon diagnosis of the disease under the policy and once lump sum amount has been received, the policy will lapse as only 1 time payment is made under this policy. But there is one condition which needs to be fulfilled i.e. you should survive for at least 30 days from the date of diagnose of the disease in order to be eligible for the claim.

Though the number and type of diseases covered under this policy can vary across different policies from different insurers, but there are still few common diseases which may be covered in any of the critical illness policy. Some of the diseases covered in most of the Critical Illness policy are:
 

1. Cancer
2. Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
3. First Heart Attack
4. Kidney Failure
5. Major Organ Transplant
6. Multiple Sclerosis
7. Stroke
8. Aorta Graft Surgery
9. Paralysis
10. Primary Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
     

For covering the above mentioned diseases under the policy, the insurance company will charge a premium amount, and the premium amount will vary depending upon your age. Some of the premiums for different age and for different sum assured are mentioned below.
 

Annual Premium for Critical Illness Policy
Age	Sum Assured
	10 L	20 L	20 L
30	3,309	6,618	16,545
40	6,067	12,133	30,333
50	13,236	26,472	66,180

 

Now you might be feeling that this is a simple and straight forward policy but, just as all the insurance policies have exclusions, critical illness also has exclusions which you should be aware of before you take up this policy. Some of the common Exclusions under this policy are:
 

1. Any pre-existing disease will not be covered under the policy.
2. Any critical illness diagnosed within the first 90 days from the date of taking up the policy will not be covered under the policy.
3. Treatment arising from or traceable to pregnancy or childbirth will not be covered under the policy.
    

Knowing the above mentioned benefits and exclusions under the policy can help you to take the policy for yourself and your spouse and also prevent your family from the financial burden which you might face in case any critical disease is diagnosed. Further the premium paid under this policy is exempt under section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Conclusion

It is advisable to take up this policy at an early age of 30-35 years as it becomes difficult to get this policy at a later stage, as you might get diagnosed with some illness because of which the insurance company will not be willing to issue the policy to you.

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Comments
mmaus@stjosephwaconia.org Feb 25, 2012 Thank Mike. I am in the peosrcs of renewing mine right now. Did not see that exclusion but did notice some others glancing through. Need to give it a closer look. Richard Washington

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