How Can You Select a Cancer Insurance Plan?

Nowadays, almost all insurance companies offer cancer insurance plans as part of their insurance product portfolio. With the availability of many options, choosing one right cancer insurance plan is a difficult task in India. Let us discuss how you can choose the right cancer insurance plan. 

Factors to Consider While Buying a Cancer Insurance Plan

Purchasing critical illness insurance for diseases like cancer is essential these days. It is always suggested to keep the below factors in mind while buying the right cancer insurance plan. Here’s a quick laydown: 

1. Check the Sum Assured 

   This is one of the important factors that should be taken into consideration if you are looking out to buy a cancer insurance plan. With the increasing hospital bills and a long treatment regimen for cancer, the cancer health insurance plans should ideally come up with a high sum assured amount. This would not only help you in paying your hospital expenses but would also reduce the financial burden and the mental stress. It is advisable to ensure that the premium amount you require to pay should accommodate into your budget. 

2. Check the Policy Coverage 

   While buying a cancer insurance policy, make sure to go through the terms and conditions of the plan carefully. Ideally, choose a comprehensive cancer insurance plan that involves medications, medical procedures, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and others. The cancer insurance plan also covers the costs related to the hospitalization. Since the procedures for cancer treatment are very expensive and it is considered a good idea to buy one that covers types of cancer and the different stages of the disease. It is always advisable to buy a plan that pays you a % of the SA, depending on which stage of cancer you are in. 

3. Check the Duration of the Insurance Cover 

   The duration of the insurance cover is an equally important factor to consider while buying the right cancer insurance plan. A disease like cancer can affect an individual at any point of time in life. So, it is important to choose a cancer insurance plan that provides you complete coverage for a long period. Thus, it is a smart decision to opt for cancer insurance plans with long coverage terms. 

   

4. Clauses of Waiting and Survival Period 

   The clause of the waiting period stipulates the period until which the plan would not come into force. Likely, the clause of survival period stipulates a period for which the life assured has to survive, from the time of the diagnosis of cancer. 

5. The Claim Settlement Ratio of an Insurance Company 

   Each insurance company has a CSR that tells you how many claims have been settled. Always purchase a cancer policy from an insurer that has high CSR. 

6. Payouts of Cancer Insurance at Different Stages of Cancer 

   The cancer insurance payouts are different for major-stage diagnosis and early-stage diagnosis. Therefore, you should always choose a cancer insurance plan that provides important benefits even for minor conditions. 

7. Premiums 

   The meaning of the right cancer policy varies from individual to individual. So you should always choose a cancer insurance plan whose premium you can pay as long as you need to. Select a policy from an insurer that offers high cover at low premium rates. 

Cancer Insurance Plans 

Let’s discuss three cancer insurance plans that offer unique benefits: 

1. Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan

   In this plan, the benefits are spread over three stages: CIS, early, and major stages. In CIS and early-stage, 20% of the indexed sum assured is payable as lump sum benefit, and all the future due premiums are waived off. This plan allows the CIS claims that are payable for cancer of five different types of organs. In the case of the major stage, a lump sum benefit (100% of indexed SA minus early/CIS stage claim) is paid. Moreover, an annual income benefit is also paid off 10% of the sum insured. This payment is regardless of the expiry or death of the policy term. 

2. Aegon Life iCancer Insurance Plan

   There are three types of benefits under this plan: minor, major, and critical. Minor one takes care of CIS. In the early stage i.e., minor, the benefits paid will be 25% of the SA up to a maximum limit of Rs.5 lakhs/ claim. At this stage, the future premiums will be waived off. In the case of the major stage, the policy pays 100% of the SA minus the claims paid previously under this plan. Then, at the critical stage, 150% of the SA is payable minus any previous payouts. 

3. HDFC Life Cancer Care Plan

   This plan has 3 variants such as silver, gold, and platinum, and the premium amounts differ based on the variant. 

   Silver	Gold	Platinum
   25% of the sum insured is payable and the premium amounts are waived off for three years	The sum insured amount increases by 10% of the starting sum insured yearly from the first year of the policy	Monthly income equivalent to 1% of the sum insured is payable for the coming 5 years.

Wrapping It Up!

The premium rates of cancer plans are lower as compared to the features and benefits provided by them. If you are planning to buy a cancer insurance plan, always consider the above points to ensure that you choose a comprehensive cover as per your needs.