Life is unpredictable and so are the medical bills. When life strikes you with uncertain situations, make sure you have a backup plan instead of dwelling on a financial crisis. You’re lucky enough if you never had to use critical illness insurance but that doesn’t mean your situation can not change. Get yourself ready for any mishap and be prepared in advance.
Many people are of the view that standard health insurance covers all medical expenses but this is not the case. The huge cost of life-threatening illnesses is usually a lot more than any plan will cover. Therefore, it is important to invest in critical illness insurance to never run out of finances, if you ever get diagnosed with any critical illness.
Critical Illness Insurance provides additional coverage for serious illnesses like heart attack, stroke, or cancer. These medical emergencies usually cost more than traditional insurance can cover and therefore can lead to crippled finances. Therefore, it is important to invest in critical illness insurance to ensure you or your family members do not have to face any medical inconvenience in the future. Read more about Critical Illness Insurance to know its importance.
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What Is Critical Illness Insurance?
Critical illness insurance is a policy that gives additional coverage to the insured if he gets diagnosed with some serious illness such as heart attack, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, etc. Usually, traditional health insurance fails to cover expenses of critical illnesses that is why it is important to invest in critical illness insurance.
Even with excellent medical insurance, just one critical illness can cause detrimental effects on your finances. This is because critical illnesses require extensive medical care and treatment that easily leave you in debt. Critical illness insurance results in a lump sum payment given to the affectee to cover the medical cost. Insurance coverage varies from company to company but usually, you can get a few thousand dollars up to $100,000, depending on what policy you chose.
How You Can Buy Critical Illness Insurance?
There are two ways by which you can buy critical illness insurance. Firstly, you can buy from an independent financial adviser, who can look for all the policies and choose the best for you. Secondly, you can buy directly from an insurance company. In addition, you have to answer a few questions and hand in a few documents to show you’re eligible for applying for critical illness insurance.
Cost Of Critical Illness Insurance
The cost of critical illness insurance depends on a few factors. These factors are discussed below:
- Age
The elder citizens have to pay more because they are more prone to serious illnesses than others.
- Gender
Men have to pay more as they make slightly more claims than women.
- Health
A healthy individual has to pay less.
- Occupation
If you have a risky job, you’ll probably have to pay more to ensure your coverage.
- Lifestyle
If you have a lifestyle where you are addicted to drugs or smoke, then you’ll have to pay more.
Importance Of Critical illness Insurance
Investing in critical illness insurance is equivalent to investing in yourself. Life is unpredictable and you never know what the future holds. The least you can do is investing in things that ensure financial security. One of them is investing in a critical illness insurance policy. The importance of critical illness insurance is as follows:
- Additional Coverage
Critical illness insurance makes sure to cover your medical expenses if you ever get a serious illness such as heart attack, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s’ disease, etc. Traditional health insurance does not cover serious illness medical expenses as they have exorbitant amounts to cover. Critical illness insurance gives additional coverage to such serious illnesses. The insured is usually paid few thousand dollars up to $100,000, depending on the policy. The amount is more than sufficient to cover medical bills and non-medical bills such as transportation, childcare, etc.
- Financial Security
Medical expenses are too costly. Even if you go for a general check-up, it would cost you hundreds of dollars. Just imagine what a critical illness can cause you. If you don’t have critical illness insurance, you’ll end up financially crippled if you get a serious illness. Here, critical illness insurance does its job. It gives you financial security and peace of mind. You know that you’ll be able to deal with any medical emergency if life strikes you with it, without having to compromise on the necessities of life.
- Tax Benefits
Critical illness insurance is also important because it can considerably reduce your tax burden. Government considers critical illness insurance as a medical expense, so the extra amount you pay becomes eligible for deduction. Moreover, senior citizens can claim up to $24000. For a younger citizen, it is less and up to $12000. In this way by investing in critical illness insurance, you get tax benefits as well.
- Cost-effective policy
Critical illness insurance is important because it is a cost-effective policy. The insurance only covers treatment expenses related to critical illnesses. Therefore, the premium is set to be low in comparison to standard health insurance. It is a wise decision to invest in critical illness insurance as it is low-cost and highly effective. Without having critical illness insurance you will never be able to cover the exorbitant amount of medical expenses that ate required for treating a serious illness.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, one can claim that it is important to invest in critical illness insurance for it comes with several benefits. But before you buy critical illness insurance make sure you go thoroughly through the eligibility criteria, tax exemptions, and cost of critical illness insurance. It will help you understand the importance and need of investing in a critical illness insurance policy. Moreover, it will ensure financial security and additional coverage to your health benefits.
