Let’s find out whether you need to buy a separate accident insurance and critical care insurance if you already have a health insurance plan?

Here are the differences between health insurance, accident insurance, and critical care insurance:

1. Health insurance v/s accident insurance

A health insurance has a broader scope in terms of coverage as compared to an accident insurance. A health insurance is a general insurance that takes care of your medical expenses (hospitalization charges, doctor’s consultation fee, diagnostic tests, etc.) when you fall ill. While an accident insurance takes care of the complete medical and hospitalization expenses arising out of an accident.

A health insurance will also cover the medical expenses in the event of an accident but a health insurance will not pay the following:

• Weekly or limited compensation if the accident leads to temporary disability.
• The entire sum assured if the accident leads to permanent disability.
• Lump sum compensation to the nominee/ family if the accident leads to the death of the insured.

Although an accident insurance will provide the above benefits, it does not cover the pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization treatment charges that a health insurance would.

The additional benefits with a health insurance are that one can opt for free health checkups, maternity medical care coverage, etc. while broken bones cover, ambulance allowance are the extra benefits that come along with an accident insurance.

2. Health insurance v/s critical care insurance

A health insurance covers a different range of medical expenses occurring due to accidents, hospitalization, pre-existing diseases, sickness, and maternity. A critical care insurance specifically covers illnesses that may or may not occur. These life-threatening diseases like cancer, kidney failure, heart attack, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, organ transplant, etc. may need expensive treatments.

A health insurance provides you coverage as and when your medical expenditures arise. While a critical care insurance pays you the entire tax-free amount assured in a lump sum as soon as you are diagnosed with any one of the critical illnesses covered by the plan.

The money provided by health insurance is used for pre-determined purposes like paying for checkups, tests, pharmacy bills, etc. but the cover provided by a critical care insurance can be used by the insured person as per his will. This can be for treatment, facilitating the lifestyle changes needed to cope with the illness, replenishing the income lost, etc.

A health insurance can be used multiple times till it expires. It can also be renewed while claims against a critical care insurance can be made only once.

Now that you realize that each type of insurance has its own unique purpose in providing financial security for your future, it is only wise to buy them individually for complete protection.

How to buy? Get a good agent who understands insurance, top up, super top up, …and whether the agent will run around for attending to your claims.