The changing times have brought access to better health facilities, improved living conditions and higher standards of living. However, the hustle, competition and the daily grind have negatively impacted people’s lifestyles, leading to multiple health issues.

Lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, etc., are on the rise. The recent pandemic was also a wake-up call for many, reiterating the need for ensuring optimum protection for loved ones. Additionally, the exponential rise in medical inflation has further highlighted the need for health insurance.

Health insurance plans are perfect for planned or unplanned medical expenditure. You can buy an individual health plan for each member of your family or get family-floater health insurance for umbrella coverage. Health insurance allows you to rest assured about the financial aspects of medical treatment and focus on recuperation and well-being.

Apart from health insurance, the changing lifestyles and the recent pandemic have also highlighted the need for a term insurance policy. Term insurance plans are perfect for guaranteeing¹ the financial security of your family in case of any eventualities - terminal illnesses, critical illnesses or even death of the life assured.

So, do you need both insurance plans or does having just one of them suffice? To ensure all-around protection for you and your loved ones and be prepared in case of any emergencies, it is advisable to get both health plans and term plans in India.

To underline the importance of both these plans, let us look at the benefits of each.

Top Benefits of Term Insurance and Health Insurance

HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS
Offers complete or partial coverage of planned as well as unplanned medical expenses. This allows you to ensure the best treatment and stress-free recovery without worrying about the cost of treatment.	Also covers ambulance costs, daily cash benefits, pre-hospitalisation expenses (tests, consultations), post hospitalisation expenses (medicines, physical therapy), etc.	Allows targeted personalisation with a wide range of plans offered by insurers, along with multiple optional riders# that enhance protection.	The premium you pay for a health insurance plan can be claimed as a tax* deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.

 

TERM INSURANCE BENEFITS
Offers an extensive life cover at pocket-friendly premiums. You get pure life insurance to ensure optimum financial protection for your family even in your absence.	Regular term plans in India offer no maturity benefits. However, you can opt for online term insurance with a return of premium2which offers a sum of all premiums paid as a maturity payout.	You can further enhance coverage and ensure complete protection with attractive term plan riders.	You can enjoy dual tax* benefits. Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, the premiums paid are tax-deductible* whereas the term plan payout is tax-exempt* under Section 10(10D).

So, why do you need health insurance?

To ensure financial support in case of planned or unplanned medical expenditure. A health insurance plan allows you or your family to avail the best treatment without worrying about the expenses. In today’s times, with the prevailing lifestyle-related health conditions and the ever-mutating coronavirus, the need for health insurance cannot be highlighted enough.

And, why do you need term insurance?

No matter how detailed your safeguards are, life is unpredictable. Amidst this, you will want your family to fulfil all their life goals and live a secure life even in your absence. A term life insurance plan offers an extensive sum assured to your family in case of your unfortunate demise. The payout can help financially secure your family, help them pay off any outstanding debts and live a stable life.

Thus, to ensure adequate protection you should buy both a health insurance plan and a term plan in India.

Term Insurance with Medical Cover

To make term insurance attractive for insurance seekers, life insurance companies offer a wide range of comprehensive plans that go beyond a simple life cover.

Some insurers offer comprehensive protection by combining a term plan with critical illness protection, health cover and so on.

For instance, at Tata AIA Life Insurance, we offer a wide range of plans to ensure you and your loved ones are protected against multiple circumstances. Our combination plans combine online term insurance with hospicare benefit, critical illness benefit, accidental death benefit and accidental total and permanent disability benefit, all under a single plan.

Thus, with Tata AIA term plans, you are providing not just a life cover but also protection against a wide range of eventualities. The critical illness benefit pays out a lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the listed critical medical conditions. The hospicare benefit pays out a specified sum as daily cash benefit to help you take care of daily medical expenses or ensure daily financial benefit to the family.

Under accidental death benefit, an additional lump sum, over and above the base sum assured, is paid out to your family. With accidental disability benefit, a lump sum is paid out to help you manage the treatment costs, any loss of income and any costs you incur to make your home/vehicle disabled-friendly.

Thus, when you buy online term insurance with health cover, you get a wide range of additional health-related benefits. However, that still does not mean that you miss out on health insurance.

Why Should You Buy Both Health Insurance and Term Insurance?

Term insurance with medical cover is great for all-around protection, but health insurance offers more comprehensive support and covers a wide range of medical expenditures. With health insurance, you can rest assured about the health expenditure as and when it arises.

Health insurance takes care of all treatment expenses for critical illnesses. But the money is limited to the treatment costs and a few pre + post-hospitalisation expenses. When you buy term insurance with medical cover, you get a lump sum payout to take care of any other expenses, such as hiring a full-time nurse or taking care of any loss of income during your treatment, etc.

Similarly, in case of accidental disability, health insurance will take care of the treatment expenses, but term insurance with health cover will take care of any other expenses - wheelchair, full-time help, loss of income, etc.

Conclusion

Thus, every individual should include both health insurance and term insurance in their financial portfolio. Get a health insurance plan for complete financial protection during multiple medical expenses. Get a term insurance plan to protect your family’s financial security in your absence. Get term insurance with health cover to get some added protection over and above a health insurance plan and something more than just a life cover.

L&C/Advt/2022/Jun/1262