A critical illness is not a regular ailment that leaves you feeling sick for a few days and then disappears. While the treatment and care of a critical illness itself can take up to several days or months, the road to recovery can also be quite long.

Apart from the physical and mental toll that a critical illness can take on you, it also generates substantial medical bills that can cause you to worry about your family’s financial security.
 

 While a life insurance policy is an ideal tool to protect your and your family against the financial impact of a critical illness, a life insurance rider^# for critical illness ensures that the additional costs of the ailment are taken care of without affecting the life cover.
 

A critical illness cover not only provides coverage for the medical expenses arising out of a critical illness but also ensures that your family can sustain themselves during a period when you may not be able to financially support them.

 

The Impact of a Critical Illness on Your Finances

 

As you know, a critical illness can be a severe burden on your finances for several reasons. Not only can the treatment of a critical illness be really expensive but it also takes plenty of time for you to recover from the surgery, after-effects of the procedures, etc. Whether you are the primary or secondary breadwinner in your family, this long leave from work means one thing for sure – the loss of a regular income for your family.

If you are the only earning member of your family, the loss of income can be even more difficult to deal with. Additionally, during this forced sabbatical, there will be regular visits to the doctor and ongoing medication for the recovery in addition to the daily and monthly household expenses.
 

If you take a step back and take a clear look at this situation, you will realise how easily and significantly a critical illness can drain your finances; even savings accumulated over several years could be drained during this period, forcing you to start building your savings from scratch, which is a difficult endeavour.
 

 However, with the addition of a critical illness rider^# in your life insurance policy, you can cover the costs of your critical illness treatment and medication and also receive financial support to take care of your and your family’s daily expenses. That way, you need not dig a hole in the hard-earned money you have saved over the years.
 

The Importance of Critical Illness Cover in Life Insurance
 

A critical illness cover is an insurance rider^# that provides financial coverage to you and your family against a list of grave and life-threatening diseases. The critical illness benefit rider^# financially complements your life insurance policy so that the benefits of your insurance are not marred by a critical ailment. With the combination of, life and critical illness covers, you can have comprehensive protection against various eventualities.
 

Apart from the cost of the treatment for a critical illness, there are also various other expenses such as visits to the doctor or the hospital for tests, medical expenses, etc. A critical illness benefit rider^# can provide you assistance by way of the payout of a lump sum amount once you are diagnosed with a critical illness.
 

Not only does this critical illness benefit rider^# cover major illnesses and minor ailments and injuries and offers the benefit of multiple claims but also lets you choose from these flexible payout options as per your financial requirements:
 

• Lump-sum amount;
• Monthly income up to 10 years;
• Lump-sum plus income for a fixed period.

 

In order to ensure that you receive maximum financial support in times of dire need, our critical illness cover also enables you to receive the return of the remaining premiums after the maturity of your policy.
 

Additionally, tax* savings is another important benefit offered by a critical illness cover. Not only are you eligible for tax* deductions for the premiums paid towards your life insurance policy under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, but the premiums of the critical illness rider^# qualify for deduction from your taxable income under Section 80D of the act.
 

Conclusion
 

Adding a critical illness benefit rider^# to your life insurance policy can save you from suffering a grave financial loss in trying medical situations. Therefore, while buying a life insurance plan, it is always better to prepare for any medical contingencies, no matter how small or severe, by adding a critical illness cover to your policy rather than dipping into your savings and compromising the financial security of your dear ones when a medical emergency arises.
 

L&C/Advt/2022/Oct/2606