Almost everybody is leading a hectic life and neglecting the basic health care that must be taken. There is a lot of stress as well as competition going on in today’s world; everyone is busy making the most of their lives. Amid this environment, people hardly get the time to take care of themselves. As the environmental conditions are declining, there has been an increase in health problems. This is making even healthy people prone to diseases.
The number of people suffering from critical conditions has also increased over the years. There is a possibility that someone from your family has a critical disease that cannot be covered under the basic health plan. You will need critical illness insurance to cover these diseases. However, both these policies vary from each other to a certain extent, and hence before you buy any of them, you need to have a proper understanding of the same.
The basic difference between a health insurance policy and critical illness insurance cover is given below:
- Coverage
The scope of coverage for a health insurance policy and a critical illness policy differ from each other. Under a health insurance plan, all your medical expenses such as costs for treatment, ambulance charges, etc. get covered. The pre-existing diseases are also covered (if any) after you’ve served the waiting period. On the other hand, a critical illness insurance provides coverage for selective critical illnesses only. You have to wait for a specific number of days before you can claim for the condition.
- Expenses covered
Under a health insurance plan, the expenses required for hospitalization in case of any disease or accident caused to the insured, are covered. Along with these, costs for daycare procedure, various tests, OPD charges, consultations, and other similar expenses, are also taken care of by the insurer. Whereas, if you have a critical illness policy, you receive a lump sum benefit if you have been diagnosed with an illness that is mentioned in your policy document.
- Advantages
Hospitalization charges cannot be borne by everybody. In times like these, a health insurance policy comes handy, as it settles all of these expenses if you are admitted to a network hospital. In this case, you can avail of the cashless facility wherein the bills are settled by your insurance provider directly. Even after you’ve made a claim, your health plan will continue till the time you exhaust the entire sum insured. The policy can be renewed annually.
If you have a critical illness insurance plan, and you’ve been diagnosed with a pre-specified critical illness, you will receive a tax-free lump sum amount. This is useful as you can spend it however you wish to. Note that a critical illness policy will expire after making the claim once.
- Premium Amount
Because the coverage you receive under a health insurance policy is extensive, the premium to be paid might be high. As compared to this, the critical illness policy is cheaper as only the pre-declared critical conditions are covered.
Both policies seem to balance each other but serve different purposes altogether. It is better to compare and choose from plans such as family floater health insurance, personal accident insurance or individual plans and clubbing them with a critical illness policy, so you are completely protected in case of any medical emergency.