Critical Illness Rider

A critical illness rider is one of the most popular riders which helps the policyholder in offering financial assistance if they are diagnosed with a critical illness during the tenure of the plan.

Critical illness is a life threatening and dangerous health issue like cancer, kidney failure, stroke, and others. This rider helps in enhancing the coverage. When you purchase a term insurance plan having critical illness cover, you can claim the sum assured amount on the diagnosis of critical illness that are covered under this plan. The payout money can be used by the policyholder to pay ambulance charges, medical expenses, or doctors’ fees.

The term insurance plan having a critical illness rider can be purchased at the beginning of the policy or any other subsequent year. This insurance benefit can be availed by the policyholders by adding the term rider in the base plan at affordable premium rates payable with the base premiums.

Critical Illness Rider

Importance of Critical Illness Rider

The cost of healthcare facilities in India is increasing at an exponential rate for the past few years. All the expenses related to the treatment of critical illnesses can create a hole in your pocket and drain all your savings. This is where a critical illness comes to rescue which can help in managing your treatment expenses without draining your savings. Now, let us have a look at the importance of availing critical illness rider:

Income Replacement

It’s a matter of concern if a person gets diagnosed with a critical illness at any point of his or her life as the medical expenses associated with the critical illness can be huge. In fact, there may be sometime where a person may have to quit his or her job and focus on the treatment. This can have a big impact on financial health as all your savings will be drained. However, if you availed a critical illness benefit rider, it could support you financially by providing coverage for your treatment. On the other hand, if you have a critical illness rider with your term insurance plan, you need not have to worry regarding your financial future of you and your family. You will get a huge amount to cover your income loss and lead a peaceful life without any concerns.

Large Cover

The cost of treatment for critical illnesses such as heart attack, cancer, kidney failures, and others is huge in India. Such huge treatment expenses will finish all your savings in no time. But if you have a critical illness rider, it will help in offering coverage against multiple critical illnesses at an additional nominal premium rate.

Lump Sum Benefit

Critical Illness Rider allows the policyholders to manage their treatment expenses by paying a lump sum amount. In other words, the policyholder receives the entire sum at once, which is a huge comfort because it allows them to pay for the costs of the treatment up front without having to worry about money running out at any stage. Additionally, they might use the amount in accordance with their various needs.

Double Tax Benefits

Policyholders having term insurance are eligible to enjoy tax benefits according to Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This section under the Income Tax Act helps the policyholder to get tax benefits of up to Rs.1.5 lakhs for the policy premium paid. When a critical illness rider with base term insurance is purchased by the policyholder, the tax benefits will be doubled.

Eligibility Criteria of Critical Illness Rider

The following are the eligibility criteria of availing critical illness rider:

  1. The minimum age limit to avail critical illness rider is 18 years.
  1. The maximum age to avail critical illness rider is 65 years.
  1. The maximum maturity age of a critical illness rider is 75 years.
  1. The waiting period and survival period are 90 days and 30 days, respectively.
  1. The premium payment tenure is five years and ten years.

Documents Needed for Critical Illness Rider

The policyholders need to submit the following documents for critical illness rider:

  1. Original insurance policy documents
  1. Duly filled claim form
  1. Identity proofs of the policyholders
  1. Address proofs of the policyholders
  1. Medical test reports
  1. Copy of cancelled cheque or bank statements

Critical Illness Rider Exclusion

Given below are the exclusions of critical illness rider:

  1. Congenital infection
  1. Pre-existing disease
  1. Self-inflected injuries
  1. Attempt to suicide
  1. Participation in riots, war, or rebellion activities
  1. Doing criminal activities

Summary

With the busy lifestyles in recent days, people are at risk of getting diagnosed with critical illnesses such as heart attacks or cancer before they reach over 70 years of age. Availing a critical illness rider can be very helpful for the policyholders in the long run.

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