Health insurance Plans are termed as  such insurance products which are devised to provide financial coverage  during medical emergencies. With the tremendous increasing medical research every individual aims to provide the best medical facility to his/her family members.  Buying and comparing  Health insurance plans makes this objective much easier. There are many variations to the health insurance plans, critical illness plan is one such variation added to the health insurance segment which can be bought as a standalone product too.  It would be interesting to compare the health insurance with the critical illness plan, although this should be understood that critical illness plan cannot be considered a replacement to the Health insurance plan. Low cost mediclaims are also widely adopted options which people opt for to minimize cost of the policy and maximize their returns.As the name suggests, health insurance plan covers the critical illnesses such as cancer, kidney transplant, coronary artery bypass, major organ failure, paralysis etc. These are the diseases generally covered under this plan, but the exact list of diseases covered might vary amongst different insurers.

When we talk about this plan, it cannot be considered alternative to the mediclaim or the health insurance policy.  In comparison to health insurance ,this plan has certain unique features or benefits. If we  talk about health insurance plan it provides cover in case of hospitalization, whereas the critical illness plan covers the expenses incurred both during the hospitalization and otherwise. Also, there is no precondition when reimbursing the expenses to provide for only the maximum of cost of treatment or the sum assured.  The critical illness gives the added benefit of covering all other extra costs incurred during the treatment of the disease.

Critical illness plan:

The number and type of diseases covered by the insurance company differs from company to company, hence a thorough study of what one needs is required before the purchase of any such plan.

This plan generally does not cover any pre existing diseases. Also, it does not cover any congenital diseases either. There is generally a clause of waiting period of 2 to 4 years depending on the insurer. Any disease detected during this phase which would require medical treatment cannot be claimed under this plan.

Critical illness plan also offers the maturity benefit in case the policyholder survives the term of the policy for a specified number of years after being detected with the critical illness.  In case the policyholder survives the number of years mentioned, there would be no such payment to the family or nominee.

There are two types of critical illness plans in case this plan has been bought to complement the existing health insurance cover. Accelerated plan and the non accelerated critical illness plan. Now, in case of a non accelerated critical illness plan the sum assured paid to the policyholder does not affect or reduce the sum assured offered under the base health insurance plan. Whereas for the accelerated critical illness plan, the amount paid as the critical illness cover reduces the base cover to be paid as and when required.