Personal Finance

Six things to consider before buying health insurance for cancer patients

Updated : December 19, 2020 11:14 AM IST

Caner is a frightful disease, the care for which is a costly affair. This can end up financially draining out the sufferer and family.

Hence, it becomes very important to have a health insurance plan for cancer patients.

Caner is a frightful disease, the care for which is a costly affair. This can end up financially draining out the sufferer and family. Hence, it becomes very important to have a health insurance plan for cancer patients.

For choosing the best health insurance plan for cancer treatment, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Coverage

According to Rakesh Goyal, Director, Probus Insurance, an insurtech broking company, one must look for an insurance plan that covers for early as well as advanced stages of cancer.

"Also, it is vital for the plan to provide a stage-based payout to ensure the cost of the treatment and other additional expenses are taken care of at different stages," Goyal advises.

Also read: 7 reasons to review your health insurance plan annually

Duration and sum insured

Since there is no age bound for an individual to be diagnosed with cancer, Goyal suggests going with a cancer insurance plan that offers a longer duration of cover and a higher sum insured.

“This is because of the huge expenses involved in the treatment of this illness,” he opines.

Inbuilt income benefit

As per Goyal, there are certain insurance plans that offer 2 percent of the sum assured, payable for five years as regular monthly income if a major stage of cancer is diagnosed.

"This regular income can be critical financial support for the dependents in such cases," Goyal suggests.

Premium waiver

In addition to the above, waiver of the premium for a few months is one of the important features of a good cancer insurance plan. Hence, it is better to look for such plans.

Waiting period and pre-existing disease

One must do a thorough check for the waiting period and pre-existing medical conditions coverage of the plan before opting for one.

There are waiting periods in case of any health insurance. Different insurers have different waiting period options available with the product. Hence, Naval Goel, CEO and founder, PolicyX, asks customers to go for plans with less waiting period.

Also read: Have both employer and personal health policies? Here's which you should use first for making a claim

Co-payments

Goel of PolicyX suggests customers to avoid buying plans with co-payment options when it comes to cancer patients.

Co-payments are a feature of many health insurances wherein policyholders are required to pay part of their claim based on the percentage of co-payment. It is used by many people to reduce their health insurance premiums. However, for coverage of big expenses, it's better to not buy plans with co-payments.

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Six things to consider before buying health insurance for cancer patients

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