Reasons to buy critical illness cover at an early age

As the name suggests, critical illness (CI) cover is a type of insurance that provides protection against life-threatening conditions like cancer, organ failure, etc. Critical illness cover offers a fixed sum when you are diagnosed with any such diseases. You can purchase critical illness insurance as a stand-alone policy or as a rider with your standard health insurance plan.

If you have a family history of chronic illness like cancer, you may be at a risk of being diagnosed with cancer at some stage. While your regular health insurance cover may cover the treatment cost for other illnesses, it may not cover the expenses for cancer treatment.

This is where critical illness insurance plays an important role. It serves as a value addition to your medical insurance policy. It helps you get a lump sum amount that you can use to cover the treatment expenses and for other purposes as you want.

Like any other insurance, you can buy critical illness insurance anytime you want but it is better to purchase it at an early age. If you are wondering why, here are the benefits of buying CI when you are young in your 20s or early 30s.

Lower premiums

Insurance companies decide the premiums based on many factors. And, one of the critical factors is the policyholder’s age. Typically, the insurers offer insurance coverage to youngsters at a lesser premium than others because they are considered healthy and have lower chances of being admitted to hospital or diagnosed with a serious illness.

Focus on other life goals

If you don’t have critical illness insurance, during an emergency in the family, you may have to use all your savings and investments to fund expenses. However, you can save yourself from such a situation by buying a critical illness cover at a young age. Once yours and your family’s healthcare needs are taken care of, you can focus on accomplishing other important life goals like buying a new home, savings funds or retirement, building a child education fund, etc.

Maximise tax benefits

Like any insurance, critical illness insurance helps you get tax benefits under Section 80D of the Indian Income Tax act. You can claim the premium you pay for the policy as a deduction from the annual income. You can claim a deduction up toRs.25,000 for the policy that covers you and your parents who are below 60 years.

So, when you buy critical illness insurance at a young age, you can maximise the tax savings and save a significant amount in the long run.

Be prepared for emergencies

Generally, critical illnesses are more common among old aged; people who are in their 50s and 60s. However, due to the sedentary lifestyle, even youngsters are susceptible to serious health issues like cardiac arrest, renal failure, liver problems, etc.

So, buying a critical illness insurance policy at a young age helps you be better prepared financially for the emergencies that may come knocking at your door without any warning.

Final Word

So, now that you are aware of the benefits of buying critical illness at a young age, do your due diligence, and buy the best critical illness cover to your family’s needs now. If you are not sure which policy is right, you can get help from our experts of Kotak General Insurance.

Just call on the toll-free number or send an email, and the customer care representative will immediately contact you, address all your queries and concerns (if any) and help you choose the right plan to suit your needs.