Things to Consider When Deciding Between a Critical Illness Rider and Standalone Policy

Date : 05/09/2023
Read: 3 mins

An insight into critical insurance covers available in the form of policy and rider, and how to decide between the two

Critical illness standalone covers or riders

Health insurance coverage in India is far from ideal, but improving, nevertheless. According to the National Family Health Survey of 2022, at least one member in 41% of Indian families has health insurance coverage. However, whether this coverage is adequate is a different matter altogether.

Adequate health insurance is a matter that needs to be reviewed regularly
Critical illness coverage can be taken as a new policy or a rider
The choice largely depends on the extent of coverage you want and the cost you are willing to bear

Also Read: 5 Essential Things To Do Before Choosing A Critical Illness Plan

Is Your Health Insurance Adequate?

The adequacy of your health insurance coverage remains dynamic. It will change with the increase in medical costs, your advancing age, the diagnosis of a new disease, the birth of a new family member, and so on.

To keep your health insurance coverage adequate, you can increase the base sum assured by paying an additional premium. This is applicable to both individual and family health insurance plans.

Another option is to buy a top-up policy over and above your existing policy. Besides, you can also buy additional riders to cover specific aspects of your health insurance needs. If you are looking for coverage for a specific ailment, buying a separate policy for such diseases is another option you can look at.

Also Read: National Insurance Awareness Day: 5 Tips To Optimise Your Health Insurance

Critical Illness Covers or Additional Riders?

You can buy a standalone critical illness policy to address the risk of critical illnesses. These policies are specifically meant to provide coverage for critical diseases/conditions like cancer, heart attack, stroke, renal failure, etc.

Alternatively, health insurance companies also offer critical illness riders. These riders can be purchased separately as additional coverage alongside the base policy.

Here are a few things to consider:

A standalone critical illness insurance policy covers a wide range of critical diseases. The coverage for critical illness riders will depend on the scope of the base policy
A standalone policy will give you an assured amount earmarked for critical diseases. In a critical illness rider, the base policy’s sum assured will remain applicable
The premium of a standalone critical illness policy will be higher than the premium charged for a critical illness rider
Standalone policies have a comparatively longer waiting period of 30 to 90 days. In some critical illness riders, the coverage may start sooner, even day one onwards

Also Read: Don’t Risk Your Health: Securing Personal Health Insurance During Layoffs

Conclusion

If you are looking to avoid the exclusion of critical illnesses for any reason, a rider is recommended. It will provide you with limited coverage but at a lower cost. But if you want extensive coverage without the need for a medical loan, a standalone policy will serve the purpose better.

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Adequate health insurance is a matter that needs to be reviewed regularly
Critical illness coverage can be taken as a new policy or a rider
The choice largely depends on the extent of coverage you want and the cost you are willing to bear