How Critical Illness Insurance Supports Income Protection?

Getting diagnosed with a major illness such as diabetes or kidney failure is tough news to bear. You start to think about how you will sustain your family.

This is where a critical illness insurance swoops in to save the day. You get a lump sum payout that acts as a financial shield protecting your savings, income and medical expenses.

How Does Critical Illness Insurance Work?

Critical illness insurance is an income protection that works beyond standard health insurance policies. While health insurance covers your medical bills and hospital charges, critical illness insurance takes care of your daily expenses.

It is because it provides a lump sum payout which you can use according to your needs, beyond just medical expenses.

• Policy Trigger: A confirmed diagnosis by a medical practitioner of a listed critical illness.

• Survival Period: Before the insurer pays out any amount, the policyholder has to survive 15 days after initial diagnosis.

• Policy Termination: Once you claim, and the insurer completes your payment, your policy will terminate.

By paying a lump sum amount, such as Rs. 25 lakh, the policy acts as an income protection, making sure you are not left alone in times of need.

What Diseases Does Critical Illness Insurance Cover?

1. Cancer-Related Diseases

Insurance companies usually cover various types of cancer with specified severity, bone marrow transplantation and aplastic anaemia. Without insurance, a single chemotherapy session can cost Rs. 12,000 per session. Protect your health and income with critical illness insurance.

2. Heart-Related Conditions

According to the Indian Heart Organisation, India accounts for 60% of the world’s heart burden. Although these facts are scary, critical illness insurance helps you navigate these health problems easily. Conditions covered under it are: open chest CABG, surgery or aorta, primary idiopathic pulmonary hypertension, myocardial infarction, and other serious coronary artery disease.

3. Brain and Nervous System Related Conditions

Top insurers in the country cover more than 10 conditions originating from the brain and nervous system. These usually include: coma of specified severity, permanent paralysis of limbs, stroke resulting in permanent symptoms, benign brain tumour, and major head trauma, among others.

4. Major Organ and Other Conditions

Apart from these major conditions, critical illness also covers kidney failure, which requires regular dialysis, deafness, blindness, end-stage lung failure, fulminant hepatitis, third-degree burns, and systemic lupus.

How Can You Claim Critical Illness Insurance?

• Step 1: Reach out to your insurer's customer care or raise a claim through their website or app.


• Step 2: Fill out the claim form, making sure that all information you provide is correct.


• Step 3: Attach your doctor’s diagnosis, diagnostic test result reports and other documents.


• Step 4: Include your KYC information and other necessary details and submit your claim.

After verifying your diagnosis and the details, the insurer will accept the claim and disburse the entire sum insured amount to your bank account.

*Note: The claim procedure may differ.

Bottom Line

Even if you have a standard health insurance policy, investing in critical illness insurance is necessary. It goes beyond hospital costs and ensures that your income and savings are safe in a trying time.