What is Survival Period in Critical Illness Insurance?

Making up for the unavailability of critical illness cover in basic health insurance plans, most health insurance companies have rolled out special critical illness health insurance plans. No doubt that these plans are a lifesaver when it comes to finding financial support during tough times of a critical illness. But just like any other kind of insurance plan, critical illness plans also come with unique conditions and terminology. So. it is important that the policyholder has complete knowledge of terms. Conditions and underwritings of the health insurance plan they want to buy before investing. One of these condition-cum-terminology is - the survival period in critical illness insurance. Let’s find out more about critical illnesses and their survival period as per medical insurance in Dubai.

What is Defined as a Critical Illness?

Illnesses that are life-threatening but often curable are classified as critical illnesses. There are several critical illnesses present around us. However, not all of them are recognized and covered by medical insurance in Dubai. Generally, health insurance plans cover about 36-38 critical illnesses at the maximum. Depending on the comprehensiveness of your plan, the number of covered illnesses can differ greatly. Some plans cover about 15 illnesses while the others may cover all 38 illnesses. Some of the very common critical illnesses include heart failure, kidney failure, stroke, coronary artery disease, etc.

What is Classified as Survival Period in Critical Illness Insurance?

When it comes to critical illness plans, there are a few conditions that one needs to qualify for before they can get the benefits from the insurance plan. One of these conditions is the survival period. The survival period is the amount of time you are supposed to survive after being diagnosed with a critical illness. The survival period of every critical illness plan can differ within a range of 14 to 30 days. The length of this period is decided by insurance companies individually. Since critical illness plans are not death benefit plans, the survival period becomes of utmost importance.

Since the survival period in critical illness insurance is such a huge determining factor in obtaining the benefits of the critical illness plan, you need to be extra careful when selecting the plan. Making sure that the survival period is something you can agree upon becomes one of the priorities. Being diagnosed with a critical illness can take a toll on your mind and body. Adding conditions like the survival period can be even more daunting. So, it becomes a given to find a critical illness plan with the shortest possible survival period. Another thing to note is that the survival period in critical illness insurance can differ for each condition covered in a plan. This means that if there are 15 critical illnesses covered, you may get 15 different survival periods.

Survival Period vs Waiting Period

It is incredibly easy to get confused between similar sounding terminologies. Two of such terms are the waiting period and survival period in critical illness insurance. The waiting period is the amount of time you need to stay on a health insurance plan before a certain benefit or coverage begins. For example, if the waiting period for the maternity benefits of your health insurance plan is 6 months, you will only be able to redeem maternity benefits after keeping the same insurance plan for 6 months. The waiting period can last anywhere between 6 months to 2 or 3 years. The survival period, as explained earlier, last for up to a month maximum, in most cases. While the survival period is unique to critical illness plans only, the waiting period can be a part of all kinds of health insurance plans, including critical illness insurance. So, there is a well enough chance that you will come across the

What Happens When the Policyholder is Not Able to Make It to the End?

Although a painful subject, it is important to discuss what happens if the policyholder does not survive the given survival period in a critical illness plan. Unlike term or whole life insurance plans, medical insurance in Dubai does not offer a death benefit. The same goes for critical illness insurance plans as well. If you as the policyholder are not able to survive the given period, your critical illness plan would not be liable to provide many benefits to your dependents, like term life insurance plans.

Return of Premium in a Critical Illness Plan

This one particular benefit is sort of a loophole when it comes to the survival period clause. If a policyholder is not able to survive the allotted time as survival period after their diagnosis, insurance plans return the total premium paid for the plan. Of course, this only applies if the policyholder’s death was due to an illness covered by the plan and not any other. The insurance company simply sums up the total premium paid and returns it as a death benefit to the dependents or beneficiaries.

In a Nutshell

The survival period is a critical component of critical illness plans and shall be given ample thought before you go ahead and buy your plan. Needless to say, shorter survival periods are the way to go here. But be prepared to face at least 14 days as a survival period in critical illness insurance. On top of that, do not forget or undermine the waiting period clause either. All in all, be extra thorough when you are buying a critical illness plan. These illnesses themselves may be something one can predict correctly at all times but suitable arrangements can be made to make sure there are no holes in treatment.

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