Cancer is one of the fastest growing health risks in the world. Increasing pollution, urban lifestyle, stress, eating habits and many others are contributing factors for the increase in the newer cases of cancer. Many reports suggests that both the types of cancer and the number of patients are increasing rapidly in India and across the world. Due to the high population of the country, there are higher instances of cancer found in the country.
Men and women are equally susceptible to this deadly disease. Such a situation paired with skyrocketing cancer treatment costs, affording cancer treatment is almost impossible. Hence, it is smart to have cancer treatment coverage with health insurance.
If you buy health insurance online, the coverage you get for cancer can provide financial relief at a minor or major stage diagnosis. This can help the patient and their family cope better. There are many options for medical coverage for cancer patients on the market. This overabundance of options can confuse you and lead you to make a wrong purchase decision. Hence, it’s very important to know how to select the best option for yourself. Here is how you can select the ideal cancer treatment coverage:
- Explore different options
Whenever you shop for something that you have never purchased before, the first step is look at all the options present. Once you do that, you can filter them based on what your requirement. When it comes to covering the cost of cancer treatment, there are various health insurance plans available in the market. Here are the different options available to you:
- Health insurance plan
This standard health insurance plan allows you to claim hospitalization expenses for cancer treatment. However, you would need additional cancer coverage through the critical illness coverage add-on.
- Critical illness insurance
A critical illness insurance policy is an insurance plan that provides coverage for a specific list of major illnesses that are classified as critical illnesses. The insurance provider will offer you a lump sum payment after you have been diagnosed with the illness.
- Independent Cancer Insurance
An independent cancer insurance is a cancer-specific insurance plan that provides coverage for the minor and major stages of cancer diagnosis. This benefit can also be used to afford treatment or can be used as a replacement of income during the treatment period.
- Calculate the premium
The three options that you read about above are all suited to different people based on their specific requirements. For this reason, they have different types of premiums for different people. Once you have decided the option that would suit you best, you need to know how much it will cost you. This means you need to get as accurate as possible of an idea of how much your premium would be. You can use the premium calculator to get a quick quote.
- Select the sum assured
Once you have ensured how much premium you can afford to pay, you can look at how much sum assured you should have. Considering the drastic increase in healthcare costs and the coverage for cancer in mind, you should go for as high of a sum assured as possible. A fatal illness like cancer can drain your savings and put you in debt. Having a high sum assured for cancer coverage insurance can protect not only your treatment costs but also your savings. All you have to do is make a health insurance claims and get your treatment without any stress.
The cost of cancer treatment can be at least is ₹ 5 to 6 lakhs. This includes a long list of expenses like various cycles like chemotherapy, bone marrow test, PET scan, endoscopy, radiation treatments etc. In addition, the price of each chemotherapy cycle can be between ₹ 70,000 and ₹ 80,000. Due to inflation, this cost is likely to increase in the future. Having a high sum assured ensures that you won’t run out of coverage in the future.
- Look for a longer policy term
It is important to consider the term of the policy before finalizing your insurance for cancer treatment. Check out the plan that covers you for maximum age. Some plans cover you up to the age of 80. The longer the policy term the longer the risk is covered.
The premium for a 30-year-old non-smoking man can be around ₹ 991 per year for a sum assured of around ₹ 10 lakhs. That is money that one would spend in a day at the movies or in a restaurant and still stay on their budget. Consider this information, getting coverage for cancer cover today is a no-brainer.
While you are finding the right policy, you should also look into ensuring that your insurance provider offer great service. For example, you should check whether they have a health insurance app to ensure smooth interaction with customers. Apart from the major buying decisions, attention to little details such as this is what ensures your policy works best in your favour.
