Suketu’s friend had recently bought insurance. Suketu wasn’t aware of the kind of insurance so he went for a chat with his friend to know more about it. When his friend mentioned he had bought cancer insurance, Suketu was curious. He vaguely knew that cancer treatment could cost upwards of 5 lakhs. Is it possible for a salaried person to afford the cost of premiums? He wondered.
The cost of treatment of cancer may vary depending on which stage the cancer patient is in. Removal of a tumour by surgery can set you back by upto 5 lakhs or more. Not only this, follow up checks cost anywhere between ₹ 2,000 to 15,000 per test. Patients who have to undergo chemotherapy and radiation have to incur extra costs. Add to this the expensive medicines prescribed by doctors and you could end up spending anywhere upwards of 8 lakhs depending on how long your treatment continues.
This is why buying a cancer insurance plan over and above your health insurance plan is a smart thing to do. A plain vanilla health insurance or critical illness cover may not be sufficient to protect you financially from the expenses of cancer treatment. You might end up paying out of your pocket and exhausting your hard earned savings. And if like Suketu, you thought that cancer insurance came with higher premiums, you are mistaken.
You can protect yourself against cancer for as low as Rs 2 per day by buying a cancer insurance plan. This is for lump sum annual premium payment for a policy term of 10 years with sum assured of 10 lakhs for a 30 year old healthy non-smoker male. The earlier you buy, the lower your cancer insurance premium would be. For instance let us take the example of Mr A, a 30 year old salaried professional, who leads a healthy life and is a non-smoker. For a sum assured of 20 lakhs over a policy term of 20 years, he would have to pay annual regular premiums of ₹1,144 plus taxes.
Now if Mr B who is a 35 year old healthy non-smoker, salaried professional buys the same plan for a sum assured of 20 lakhs over a policy term of 20 years, he would have to pay a cancer insurance premium of ₹ 3,552 plus taxes per year. The cost of buying cancer insurance turns out to be cheaper than paying for cancer treatment out of your pocket, in the absence of a policy to protect you against this life threatening condition.
You can choose to pay your cancer insurance premium on a monthly or annual basis as per your financial situation and safeguard your future health. The financial benefit that you get in the event of cancer diagnosis more than makes up for this expenditure. Under the lump sum cover option, if a cancer is diagnosed in the minor stage, you receive 25 percent of the sum assured instantly along with a waiver on premiums for the next three years or till the end of the policy term(whichever is earlier).
For cancer diagnosed in the major stage, the entire sum assured is given, under the cancer insurance plan to help you manage your treatment and other costs. However, if you opt for a lumpsum cover with income benefit option, you not only get the entire cover amount, but also 2 percent of the cover amount on a monthly basis.
The benefits just don’t end here. If you are diagnosed with a major stage cancer later in life after having already suffered a minor stage cancer, you will have availed the benefits as above. However, you won’t be left financially stranded. Under the lump sum option chosen by you, you are immediately given 75 percent of your sum assured. An extra 2 percent of the cover amount is given per month upto 5 years, if you opted for the income benefit option. The policy terminates after the sum assured is exhausted.
You can buy a policy such as Future Generali Cancer Protect Plan for yourself online. All you need to do is choose your sum assured and your premium payment option- regular or single. Then choose the kind of coverage payout option that suits you- lumpsum or income benefit.
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