Cancer is perhaps one of the most dreaded words which any individual wouldn’t want to hear in his life. The disease not only affects the life of affected persons, but also derails his/her financial health because of the astronomical cost attached to its treatment. This is where a cancer insurance policy comes to your rescue. Read on to know why you how a cancel insurance policy can save you from unwanted troubles.
1. Rising cases of cancer
Over the year, the number of cancer cases in India has gone up manifold. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country is expected to record over 17 lakh new cases of the disease with more than 8.8 lakh deaths by 2020.
Rising cases of cancer make it imperative to avail a cancer insurance policy. As the disease can strike anybody without any prior notice, it’s important to remain financially prepared. The most common types of cancers affecting the Indian population are breast cancer, cervical cancer, oral cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. Thus, it’s imperative to be prepared financially against the ailment.
2. Meet high cost of treatment
Treatment of cancer is an expensive affair. Depending upon the type of cancer and its stage, expenses often run into several lakhs of rupees. A standalone health insurance plan is not sufficient to cover the cost of cancer treatment.
In such a scenario, a cancer insurance plan is your best bet. This is because this plan offers a lump sum upon diagnosis of the disease. The lump sum offered helps take care of the high cost of treatment for the disease. Note that cancer incurs pre- and post- hospitalisation expenses that can severely impact your budget. These high costs can be easily met with a cancer insurance policy.
3. Prevent drying up of your savings
The high costs associated with cancer treatment has the potential to wipe out the savings of your life in one go. However, a cancer insurance plan in place prevents drying up of your funds and ensures you don’t fall into a debt trap.
There are instances of people selling all their assets and procuring high-interest loans to fund the disease’s treatment. The money received from a cancer insurance plan safeguards your finances from getting eroded.
4. Keeps essential financial goals on track
This is one of the major cancer insurance benefits. The high costs associated with the treatment of cancer can jeopardise other life goals such as higher education of your children and even retirement. Since cancer may impair your earning ability, it becomes difficult to pay even for the common household expenses.
In such a scenario, a cancer insurance plan gives you the financial muscle to not only bear the high treatment cost but also meet daily expenses and keep key financial goals on track.
To sum up
The above reasons are good enough to opt for a cancer insurance policy in modern times. However, when you apply for cancer insurance, it’s important to compare various policies, check out the sum assured, network of hospitals covered, exclusions, and most importantly the pay-out methodology.
While the best cancer insurance plans offer lump sum payment upon diagnosis of the disease, irrespective of its stage, others may offer a staggered pay-out wherein a portion of the sum insured in paid as a lump sum and the rest is paid at pre-defined intervals. A staggered pay-out not only helps you bear the cost of treatment, but also acts as a source of income. Today, there are many aggregator portals that allow you to compare and buy insurance policy that best fits your needs.
Pocket Insurance from Bajaj Finserv offers a range of insurance solutions for your daily needs right from lifestyle to travel to health to life. You can browse across various categories namely Assistance, Lifestyle, Travel, Health, and Life to choose from a variety of affordable insurance policies.
For instance, if you want to be financially secured against the hefty expenditures for the treatment of critical illnesses like cancer, you can opt for hospital cash cover plan. It will provide you a coverage of up to Rs. 1 lakh against the financial strain of hospitalisation due to an illness or injury. Moreover, you can choose to receive daily cash benefits of up to Rs. 3000 per day to manage your day-to-day expenses.
