What is Critical Illness Insurance?
Critical health insurance or critical care insurance or critical illness insurance is for those suffering from a serious illness. This type of insurance helps the patient with a considerable large amount of money for the treatment.
A critical illness can strike anybody anytime. And because it is critical, a lot of money is required in treatment. In this situation, traditional health insurance may help cover some costs associated with the treatment, but most of the time, that is not enough. That is why the Critical health insurance plan is designed.
How does it work?
The critical illness insurance plan is standing on a simple principle. It says that the customer will be provided a considerably higher amount of money if he or she or his family members or close relatives are diagnosed with a serious illness. If you want to use the funds for different purposes, then you can use it to pay loan EMI, children’s school fees, household expenses, etc.
Even if your medical condition required weather change and you need to go abroad for vacation or further medical treatment, the insurance amount will also help you. Overall the insurance amount acts as a source of income or an income replacement depending on the way you want to spend it.
Why Is Critical Illness Insurance Plan Important?
As the average life in Singapore is on the rise, the necessity of an insurance plan increases simultaneously with the chances of critical illness. Heart attack, stroke, organ transplant, cancer, etc. medical conditions require extensive treatment and medical care. This leads to a bulk expense. The importance of a Critical health insurance plan lies in the disabilities of traditional insurance plans. It simply covers the costs that standard insurance plans can not cover- the lump sum costs. The coverage is not unlimited; depending on factors like age, sex, an extension of the coverage, family medical history, etc., the limit value changes.
The coverage of the critical illness insurance Singapore can be useful for the following matters;
- To carry the costs of critical medical services
- To carry the daily medical costs that critically ill patients need for living
- Transportation expenses like the fare of getting to or returning from the treatment center, installing lift so that the patient doesn’t have to take stairs, cost of a wheelchair, etc.
- Critically ill patients who need to be somewhere to spend some time peacefully can use the fund for vacation.
Benefits of Critical Illness Insurance Plan
- Takes care of family finance
A severe or critical illness makes a person ill and jeopardizes the rhythm of living an entire family. It mostly affects the finance of the family. With the help of the critical insurance plan, one can cope with all the medical and household expenses in Singapore, associated with the patient’s treatment.
- Tax benefits
Another great benefit of critical health insurance is, it’s utterly tax-free under section 80D of the IT act.
- Peace of mind
This is one thing which is an essential thing in this situation, but it is also the hardest thing to find. Because the family members of the patient always worry about how they are going to cope with the situation, can they provide enough funds for his treatment- which makes them more restless every day? Don’t you think you had someone in the back then the situation would have been more under control?
Well, a critical illness insurance plan is there to hold your back. Now you can easily focus on a patient’s medical care and treatment rather than wandering for money.
- Foreign country
As mentioned before, critical illness can strike anytime, anywhere. You may be on vacation, far from Singapore, when it occurred. Critical care insurance can help you, even if you are far away. Also, in the case of weather treatment, the insurance plan will carry all the patient’s expenses.
Disadvantages of Critical Illness Insurance Plan
- May not cover every illness
There are certain conditions of the critical illness insurance plan, which may not include every type of serious illness. So whenever you are about to buy a vital insurance plan, you need to learn about the range of cover it is providing.
- The claiming is limited
The most significant factor about this insurance plan is you can claim only one time for your payout. If you have claimed the insurance and received the payment, then you will not be allowed to claim again, even if the event is your death.
- It can be expensive
The price of premiums for a critical insurance policy can be costly, but some insurance providers like HLAS will charge you a fair amount. You don’t have to believe in our words and compare HLAS quotes with other insurance providers to make sure you are buying from the right provider.
How Critical Illness Insurance Is Different From Regular Health Insurance
Regular Health Insurance Plan
Traditional health insurance plans cover a minimal number of diseases, which are mentioned in the policy. Even the insurance would not be applicable if the medical condition occurred outside Singapore. You have to buy different insurance plans for different situations. For example, if you are traveling and not sure about your medical condition, then there is a travel insurance plan. The regular insurance policy offers coverage, even if it is claimed.
Critical Illness Insurance Plan
It gives coverage for critical illnesses, which may cost a bulk amount of money for treatment. It doesn’t matter if the disease occurred in Singapore or not. This insurance plan offers a lump sum money for all of the expenses that are associated with the medical condition. One the benefit is given, the policy ends.
Conclusion
There are two main questions– is the critical illness insurance policy will cover your illness, and will one single claim be enough for you? If both of the answers are yes, then obviously, this policy is worth it for Singaporeans. Still, you need to do a little research to find the best critical illness insurance providers and compare their quotes to find your best fit. You can contact an insurance expert and ask for their advice.
