Why Buy Health Insurance and Critical Illness Insurance Separately?

We live in a time were undergoing medical treatment can easily give sleepless nights to one. Why? It is because of the sky-rocketing costs of treatment that keep on increasing with the passage of time. The best that one can do to stay financially stable in a medically tough situation is to choose health insurance to take care of the expenses incurred, in case of a hospitalization. But what if one is diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer, stroke, or kidney failure? Would the same health insurance critical illness insurance policy work in one's favor in this situation? Well, the answer is No!

It is significant for health insurance policy buyers, especially those new, to understand that health insurance policy and critical illness insurance are not interchangeable. Both are quite different from each other. In addition, it is always advised to purchase both the policies separately so that maximum benefit can be gained out of them.

To have a better understanding, let us shed light on the differences between health insurance and critical illness insurance that demand the separate purchases of both.

5 Benefits of Buying Health Insurance and Critical Illness Separately

Key reasons that make a separate purchase of health insurance and critical illness insurance a wise choice include:

1. Basic Features

While a health insurance policy covers hospitalization expenses in case of diseases or accidents, critical illness insurance covers life-threatening diseases like cancer, stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, and many others. Trying to make the most of health insurance in critical illness or vice versa will serve no purpose. Do not forget that the critical illness policy has no association or concern with hospitalization expenses and your hospitalization cover won’t be able to benefit you in case you are diagnosed with any life-threatening disease.

2. Coverage

Health insurance policy and critical illness insurance differ in terms of scope of coverage as well. Buying both the policies separately is advisable to make sure your coverage is not compromised. Remember, a health insurance policy will cover all your medical expenses, be it ambulance charges or domiciliary charges, even pre-existing diseases after a certain waiting period. On the other hand, the critical illness policy will cover only a specific list of critical illnesses, after a waiting period of 30 or 60 or 90 days. Here, the number of diseases covered and waiting period will vary based on the health insurance company.

3. Benefits

A health insurance policy is required for the hassle-free settlement of hospitalization expenses incurred during the medical treatment. In case the insured avails treatment at a network hospital, they can avail the cashless facility (bills reimbursed directly by the health insurance company). In case, a person files a claim, even then the policy would continue until they exhaust the complete sum insured amount. What’s best is that one can also renew their health insurance policy every year. Now, in the case of critical illness insurance, the insured gets a lump sum amount which they are free to spend as per their will. Another important thing to take into consideration is that one cannot renew their critical illness insurance after filing a claim because the former expires soon after a claim is made.

4. Sum Insured

If you possess a health insurance policy, you can gain a cover of Rs. 1 Crore maximum. However, in case you possess critical illness insurance, you will be able to cover yourself for a maximum of Rs.50 Lakh.

5. Premium

Since health insurance policies come with extensive coverage, the premium amount charged is high. Whereas in the case of a critical illness plan since only a set of pre-declared critical diseases is covered, the premium charged is less.

You Can Also Buy Medical Health insurance Plan Online

Conclusion

Both health insurance and critical illness insurance provide complete protection against unexpected medical situations. Even if both balance each other, one should always remember that both serve different purposes and therefore, must be purchased separately.

So, if your medical needs demand both health insurance and critical illness insurance, go ahead and purchase both separately to make sure you do not compromise in any which way.

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.