When Carl Fernandes was diagnosed with cancer little did he know that it would almost wreck his bank balance as well as his mental equilibrium. The importance of a smart medical policy which covered him completely was felt acutely. Medical Health Insurance is an important part of an individual’s life. Given the stress levels prevalent in present day corporate life and its attendant risk the individual without adequate medical is a candidate for major heart burn.
The count of serious illnesses is escalating every day. Acute illnesses also mean loss of income, change in lifestyle and permanent disability. The financial burden could be more severe than what an indemnity health insurance plan would cover. To combat this issue one needs to get a critical illness insurance which meets your large medical cost as well as provides a lump sum compensation for meeting your day to day expenses without making you run in a fanatical race for money arrangement.
Once a person is hospitalized, incidental costs can go sky-high. Take cancer for instance. Herceptin (breast cancer drug) may cost anywhere between Rs 75,000/vial and Rs 1 lakh/vial. A patient needs at least 16 vials. Similarly, an angioplasty can cost anywhere between Rs 1 and Rs 3.5 lakh. Getting a best critical illness plan is only seems to be a viable option.
With the growth in easy availability of information, people in general are using it to their benefit. This trend was seen in the specialised insurance sector as the sales for “critical illness policies” have gone up drastically in the last one decade.
The days of getting just simple life insurance for tax benefits (usage of 80cc) is gradually receding and people are going for more specific insurance, keeping in mind, their family medical history. The rising medical cost, easy availability of information and changing lifestyle and work related stress add up to this trend of people going for critical illness policies. Not surprising, there are now nearly 18 different companies selling their critical illness policies in the market.
Khairoo Andani Khavtay, a leading insurance consultant in Goa told Herald candidly, “I have been in this sector for last 23 years and in the beginning, there was no demand for any critical illness policies. Only the corporate and well-educated classes used to enquire about it. However, in last 15 years the awareness has grown drastically and in the last five years even the lower middle class and the middle class are opting for this policy. Young people who join jobs get themselves these critical illness policies as they are well aware of their family medical history.”
Ms Khavtay added that, “I bought it myself for me and my family. Ten years back about 50 people per annum would enroll for critical illness policies but now the figure has gone up to about 250 per annum”.
Rameshwar of SBI General Insurance said the policy covered 13 critical illnesses and the sums insured options were Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. With no pre policy medical test up to 60 for those without any medical history, it was an attractive option.
When asked how many people in Goa were taking this option he said “I would not be able provide you with definite numbers but yes there are people who buy these policies but an even larger number buy general health policies and then attach riders which provides them with cover for critical illness.”
People he said were now more health conscious and were taking medical insurance. Another private sector insurance provider has stopped providing specific critical insurance policies due to the relative higher payment required for such policies. The general insurance health policy of the company was quite popular with the people of Goa. This assessment was provided by a manager who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the company.
Sunil Buran of Appollo Munich said his company’s policies had touched a nerve in the Goan market with its general health insurance policies. Critical illness policies, he said was not very popular because of the very high premiums.
Sandeep Kumar of IFFCO-Tokyo Insurance Service said the company had one special benefit that none of the other companies offered. He said “Policy holders can avail of emergency assistance services. For example if one of our policy holders suffers a heart attack in the middle of a desert or in a forest, once he or his dependants call us on a toll free number, we will make arrangements to take him to the nearest medical facility absolutely free of cost.”
The company he said had policies which were not as expensive as the other policies in the market. The market he said was very good in Goa and the response was very good. Like all the other executives he refused to provide numbers to back his claims.
While applying for critical illness cover, you should specify whether or not you have a medical condition. At times, one medical condition might give rise to another medical condition, sometime later in life. Hence it is imperative on your part to be honest with your insurer about your medical history. Many insurers need the applicant to go through a medical test as a pre-requisite for getting the critical illness cover.
