Why buying a critical illness plan is a must for working professionals?

Dramatically long working hours to meet the deadlines, eating on the go or skipping meals, and sitting in the same position throughout the day have unfortunately become quite normal. Cancelling vacation for work and constantly putting out fires at work can add to your stress. As a working professional, you must be well aware of the situation that has just been described. Gruelling work schedules can increase the chances of you falling critically ill. In the absence of a critical illness insurance plan, the financial burden of medical expenses can jeopardise yours and your family’s savings. If you think you are young and healthy and, thus, need no critical insurance, think again.

Here are a few reasons why to buy critical illness plans

1. Hectic lifestyle: The strains of a modern and hectic lifestyle have made critical illnesses like cancer, heart attack and stroke very common. Sedentary lifestyle along with stress and unhealthy habits can increase your risk of developing lifestyle diseases. Patients with critical illnesses need to undergo extensive treatment. In this case, a general health insurance policy would be inadequate to meet the medical expenses.

2. Mediclaim policy is insufficient: Another significant reason to buy critical illness insurance is that mediclaim policies typically come with comparitively lower sums assured. As such, a mediclaim policy may not be equipped to bear the exorbitant costs associated with critical illnesses. Treatment of life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, kidney failure, or strokes, can last a lot longer than one expects and leads to expenses piling up with every passing day. This renders your general health insurance policy inadequate to meet the high costs. Also, a health insurance policy will only cover hospitalisation expenses but the sum assured would be insufficient for long-term treatment. However, a critical illness policy will effectively help you meet medical expenses.

3. Loss of income: Possible loss of income is a vital factor to consider before buying critical illness insurance. Treating a critical illness not just requires lakhs of rupees but also requires a long recovery period. This can not only drain your family’s savings but also hamper your ability to earn. The loss of income may force you and your family to change your lifestyle. However, with a critical illness insurance plan, you don’t have to worry about that as the lump sum that you will receive can be used for medical as well as non-medical expenses like meeting your lifestyle expenses or paying off your debts.

4. Protect your family financially: If you’re still thinking, ‘is critical illness insurance necessary’, then consider this: suffering from any critical illness can adversely affect your earning potential. Having a critical illness insurance plan can protect you and your family from the sudden loss of income. The future plans of the family like your child’s education remain intact when you have the lump sum money to provide financial support.

Now that you know why you should buy critical illness insurance policy, ensure you invest in one, preferably with a high sum assured. Buying a critical illness insurance plan will help you get tax benefit on the premiums you pay, and the final payout is also tax-free.