Six things to consider before buying health insurance 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.