What is a Cardiac Health Insurance Policy – Benefits and Diseases Covered
In cardiac health insurance policies, insured individuals get financial coverage to treat heart diseases like heart attacks or heart failure. Such policies are necessary these days as stressful office environments, lack of physical activities and unhealthy eating habits increase the risk of heart diseases.
The Indian Heart Association has found that 50% of individuals with heart illnesses are above 50 years old. Therefore, more people should consider opting for health insurance for pre-existing heart conditions to get coverage for expensive treatments.
There are some things you may need to know before buying cardiac health insurance plans. So, read to discover more about these policies!
What is Cardiac Health Insurance?
A cardiac insurance plan gives the sum insured to policyholders when they are hospitalised for treatment of heart illnesses. These policies cover medical costs like hospitalisation, surgeries, medications, diagnosis etc. As treatment procedures for heart ailments are expensive affairs, cardiac health insurance plans can help them cope with financial problems during these times.
Many senior citizens in India have heart-related problems, so they may need health insurance for pre-existing heart conditions. This type of policy allows them to protect their life savings from being spent on curing cardiac illnesses.
Diseases Covered by Cardiac Health Insurance
Health insurance for heart patients in India covers treatment costs for the following heart conditions –
1. First Heart Attack or Myocardial Infarction
When heart muscles die due to blood deficiency or other reasons, a person is afflicted with a first heart attack. The insured person will get benefits from this policy when they are diagnosed with such a myocardial infarction.
2. Cardiomyopathy
In this condition, the human heart fails to pump blood throughout the body. The person with this disease becomes unable to do regular activities as their organs become inactive. Insured people need to get a diagnosis from a cardiologist to be eligible for insurance benefits.
3. Refractory Heart Failure
The patient becomes resistant to previous therapeutic treatments and medications in this type of heart failure. When a cardiologist diagnoses the symptoms of refractory heart failure, the insurer will give them the insured sum.
However, insurers do not cover heart failures caused by overconsumption of alcohol or drugs.
Why Should You Buy Cardiac Health Insurance in India?
You can buy a cardiac health insurance policy to avoid health emergencies and get quality treatment from a reputed hospital. In addition, health insurance for heart patients helps them keep up with costly treatments of heart diseases without financial stress.
Today, more and more people in the country are vulnerable to heart-related problems due to various factors like sedentary lifestyles and bad eating habits. Costs of healthcare have also skyrocketed in recent years, especially for treatments like stents, coronary bypass surgery etc. Thus, a cardiac health insurance policy is a great solution to cover such expenses.
List of Best Health Insurance Policy for Heart Patients in India In 2023
| Insurance Policies | Features |
| Star Cardiac Care Insurance Policy | Age Limit – Minimum – 10 years Maximum– 65 years Sum Insured – Minimum –Rs. 3 lakhs Maximum – Rs. 4 lakhs |
| HDFC Life Cardiac Care | Age Limit –Minimum – 18 years Maximum– 65 years Sum Insured –Minimum – Rs. 2 lakhs Maximum – Rs. 50 lakhs |
| Future Generali Heart and Health Insurance Plan | Age Limit – Minimum – 18 years Maximum– 65 years Sum Insured – Minimum – Rs. 5 lakhs Maximum – Rs. 50 lakhs |
| Care Heart Health Insurance | Age Limit – Minimum – 18 years Maximum – No maximum age Sum Insured –Minimum – Rs. 3 lakhs Maximum – Rs. 10 lakhs |
| Chola MS Critical Healthline Insurance | Age Limit – Minimum – 5 years Maximum – 65 Years Sum Insured –Minimum – Rs. 3 lakhs Maximum – Rs. 10 lakhs |
| ManipalCigna Lifestyle Protection Critical Care | Age Limit – Minimum – 18 years Maximum – 65 years Sum Insured –Minimum – Rs. 1 lakh Maximum – Rs. 25 crore |
| Reliance General Critical Illness Insurance | Age Limit – Minimum – 18 years Maximum – 65 years Sum Insured –Minimum – Rs. 5 lakhs Maximum – Rs. 10 lakhs |
| Aditya Birla Activ Secure Critical Illness Plan | Age Limit – Minimum – 5 years Maximum – 65 years Sum Insured –Minimum – Rs. 1 lakh Maximum – Rs. 50 lakhs |
Benefits of Opting for Cardiac Health Insurance Policy
Heart insurance gives security to the policyholders in various ways. Look at some of its important benefits:
- Coverage During Hospitalisation: These health insurance policies cover most in-hospital expenses for cardiac treatment. Depending on whether the hospital is part of the insurer’s network, you can also get reimbursement after treatment.
- Lump-Sum: Insurers provide a lump sum amount of money if the insured person is diagnosed with any heart disease.
- Income Compensation: You can use the claim amount to meet any miscellaneous expenses and cover the loss of your income.
- Tax Benefits: Policyholders can also get tax deductions under Section 80D of the Indian Income Tax Act for paying health insurance premiums.
What Does the Cardiac Health Insurance Cover?
Policyholders get a range of coverage for meeting expenses. These are:
1. Pre and Post Hospitalisation Coverage
Insured people can get coverage for up to 30 days and 60 days respectively for covering pre and post hospitalisation costs.
2. In-hospital Expenses
They need to get admission into hospitals for more than 24 hours to get insurance coverage.
3. Yearly Health Check-ups
Some insurers also offer annual health check-ups for the policyholders.
4. Ambulance Costs
Insurance companies provide coverage for ambulance rides to hospitals during critical moments.
Also Read
How to Choose the Right Cardiac Health Insurance Policy?
People can choose the right health insurance for pre-existing heart conditions by checking the following parameters:
- Premium: Look for a policy in which the premium amount will be affordable and provide comparatively higher coverage.
- Sum Insured: Costs of treatment of heart disease are getting higher. So, choose a policy with a high amount of sum insured.
- Covered Treatments: The best cardiac health insurance policies cover all sorts of heart-related treatments/procedures like Angioplasty, heart transplant, insertion of pacemaker etc.
- Waiting Period: Be careful about the waiting period as you will not get coverage within this time frame.
- Network Hospitals: Know about the number of network hospitals in your area where you can get cashless treatment.
Final Word
Thus, cardiac insurance policies protect the insured people financially by covering costly treatment. People suffering from cardiac illnesses can consider health insurance for pre-existing heart conditions to safeguard their savings against future emergencies. With the cashless hospitalisation benefits of this insurance, individuals need not spend their critical time arranging funds for treatment.
If you want to consider reputed insurance providers like Navi, then download the Navi app from the play store today and get yourself health insurance in a few clicks and in a completely paperless way. Navi has a network of 10,000 plus hospitals and the premiums start as low as Rs.241 per month.
FAQs
Ans: Yes, you will get coverage of the expenses of domiciliary hospitalisation if you cannot visit hospitals for treatment. However, the insurers give you the sum insured only for specific treatments requiring homecare treatment or when there are no hospital beds.
Ans: The waiting period for a cardiac health insurance policy is 30 days. Meanwhile, the waiting period for people with pre-existing diseases is 24 months. This varies for different insurance companies and the terms and conditions of particular policies.
Ans: The exclusion criteria for cardiac health insurance are –
Self-caused injuries
Harm caused due to alcohol or drugs
Complications related to pregnancy and childbirth
Injuries owing to war, nuclear weapons and riots
One needs to read policy documents for detailed information on exclusion criteria.
Ans: Pre-existing disease refers to illnesses diagnosed within the last 2 years. Insurers count the duration from the date of buying a policy. However, the waiting period of a policy increases if the insured person has a pre-existing disease.
Ans: The co-payment clause stipulates that the policyholders have to bear some amount of the treatment cost. For example, in cardiac health insurance, when the insured individuals buy a policy after the age of 60, they may need to pay 10-30% of the treatment cost. However, the amount and the entry age of co-payment change from one policy to another.
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Disclaimer: This article has been prepared on the basis of internal data, publicly available information and other sources believed to be reliable. The information contained in this article is for general purposes only and not a complete disclosure of every material fact. It should not be construed as investment advice to any party. The article does not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the information, and disclaims all liabilities, losses and damages arising out of the use of this information. Readers shall be fully liable/responsible for any decision taken on the basis of this article.
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