All you need to know about heart disease insurance policy

It is World Heart Day today. The day is celebrated to increase public awareness of cardiovascular diseases and their prevention and treatment. The occasion also serves as an opportunity to review the health insurance policies that cover heart ailments.

According to the World Heart Federation, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world’s number one killer, causing over 18.6 million deaths per year. A sedentary lifestyle, cholesterol, diabetes and tobacco use are all considered risk factors.

The cost of treatment of CVD is exorbitant. Hospital bills, medicines, surgery, etc. can drain out one’s life-long savings. It is always beneficial to get a health insurance policy to meet an eventuality like heart disease.

If you are already suffering from heart ailments, it is not easy to get health insurance. Thankfully, some insurance companies have, of late, have come with medical insurance for heart patients.

Health insurance policies that cover heart diseases

In heart insurance policies, the terms and conditions are different from those in regular medical insurance policies. They often come with a higher price tag and longer waiting period.

If you are diagnosed with a heart ailment after buying a policy, then your health policy would be treated as a regular policy.

Things to check before buying heart cover policy

The terms and conditions of heart insurance policies are vastly different from regular policies. For example, there might be a longer waiting period than in regular policy. Experts have often pointed out that the lower the waiting period, the better it is, considering the high cost of treatment and the need to constantly monitor the patient.

Some insurers say that if the intended buyer has gone angioplasty, then the policy is available only after 6 months or 1 year after the procedure.

Insurance companies also put a time limit on the maximum period for buying such a policy. For example, if there is a time limit of a maximum of five years, then you cannot buy such a policy if you have gone through an angioplasty in 2015.

It is essential to check out and understand the benefits and other features of heart disease insurance policies to avoid heartburn later.

Heart disease requires special treatment and only select hospitals in a particular region offer such treatment. Therefore, policy buyers should ensure that the preferred hospitals come under the network of the insurer.

The rider is an additional benefit that comes with your policy of paying a nominal amount. It is beneficial to check out if your heart insurance policy offers any riders with it.

Critical health insurance riders

Most health insurers offer critical health insurance riders with the policy. The critical health insurance rider covers heart ailments. If you have bought health insurance with such a rider, then in the unfortunate event of being diagnosed with CVD, the health insurance company will pay you a lump sum amount. This is over and above the coverage amount for the treatment.

Also, critical illness policies can be bought separately. These policies give cover as high as Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh, and the amount is paid in a lump sum on being diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses mentioned in the policy.