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What Our Plans Cover
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The listed conditions named in the...
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Cancer of specified severity
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Heart attack of specified severity
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Stroke resulting in permanent symp...
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Kidney failure requiring regular d...
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Major organ or bone marrow transpl...
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Paralysis and specified neurologic...
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Staged payouts on cancer-specific...
Who Can Consider This Plan?
- Indian resident, typically aged 18 to 65 at entry
- Children can usually be covered from 91 days, subject to insurer rules
- Medical tests may be required above a threshold age or sum insured
- Full and accurate disclosure of existing conditions, medication and family history
- Tobacco and alcohol use must be declared — non-disclosure is the leading cause of rejected claims
What May Not Be Covered?
- Any condition not on the policy's list, however serious
- A listed condition that does not meet the policy's severity definition
- Death inside the survival period, commonly 14 to 30 days after diagnosis
- Diagnosis inside the initial waiting period, usually 90 days
- Pre-existing conditions inside their waiting period
Always check the policy wording before you commit.
Why Choose Wealth & Covers?
- Expert advice to choose the right plan
- Plans from leading insurance companies
- Hassle-free process and documentation
- End-to-end support, including claim assistance
- Dedicated relationship manager
Our Insurance Partners
- Star Health Insurance
- Care Health Insurance
- Niva Bupa Health Insurance
- HDFC ERGO
- ICICI Lombard
- Bajaj Allianz
We represent multiple providers to help you find the most suitable option at the best price.
- Expert Guidance Personalised advice from experienced insurance professionals.
- End-to-End Support From choosing the right plan to claim assistance, we are with you always.
- Claims Assistance Hassle-free claim support to ensure you get what you deserve.
- Transparent Process Clear information, easy documentation and a hassle-free experience.
Overview
A critical illness policy pays a lump sum when a listed condition is diagnosed and the survival period is met. It does not reimburse hospital bills and it does not ask for them. The money is paid to you, and you decide what it is for.
That structure exists because the largest financial consequence of a serious diagnosis is often not the hospital bill. It is the income that stops, the family member who leaves work to provide care, the treatment taken in another city, the loan that still has to be serviced. An indemnity health policy answers none of that.
Cancer-specific plans narrow the list to one disease and, in exchange, usually pay in stages — a proportion on early-stage diagnosis and the balance on a major-stage diagnosis — so the cover responds earlier in the course of the illness.
Who should consider it
Anyone whose household depends on their income, particularly the single earner in a family. Anyone servicing a home loan, where a diagnosis creates an obligation that does not pause. And anyone with a family history that makes a specific condition more likely.
It is a companion to a health policy, never a replacement. The health policy pays the hospital; this pays everything the hospital does not bill for. Buying only this leaves the treatment cost uninsured; buying only the health policy leaves the household income uninsured.
Benefits
- A lump sum paid on diagnosis, with no bills to submit and no restriction on use
- Replaces income during treatment and recovery, which indemnity cover never does
- Can be used to clear or service a loan while you are not earning
- Funds treatment in another city, or a second opinion abroad
- Available as a standalone policy or as a rider on a term plan
- Premium generally qualifies under Section 80D as health cover
What is covered, and what is not
Read the right-hand column first. It is the one that decides whether a claim is paid.
Typically covered
- The listed conditions named in the policy — commonly between 10 and 60
- Cancer of specified severity, the most frequently claimed condition on these plans
- Heart attack of specified severity, and major heart surgery
- Stroke resulting in permanent symptoms
- Kidney failure requiring regular dialysis
- Major organ or bone marrow transplant
- Paralysis and specified neurological conditions
- Staged payouts on cancer-specific plans, early stage and major stage
Typically not covered
- Any condition not on the policy's list, however serious
- A listed condition that does not meet the policy's severity definition
- Death inside the survival period, commonly 14 to 30 days after diagnosis
- Diagnosis inside the initial waiting period, usually 90 days
- Pre-existing conditions inside their waiting period
- Early-stage or in-situ cancers on plans that cover only major stages
- Conditions arising from undisclosed history at proposal stage
Inclusions and exclusions vary between providers and between plans from the same provider. The wording in your own policy document is what governs — we will walk you through it before you buy.
How it works with us
- 1 Tell us who is being covered Age, city, existing conditions and any cover you already hold. Two minutes, and it decides everything downstream.
- 2 We shortlist on structure, not price Room rent, co-payment, sub-limits and pre-existing waiting periods — the four things that decide what you actually get paid.
- 3 You see two or three options, with the trade-offs named Including what each one gives up. If your existing policy is already the right answer, we will tell you that.
- 4 Proposal and medicals We help you complete disclosure properly. A medical test, where required, is usually arranged at home.
- 5 Policy issued, and we stay on the file At claim time you call us, not a helpline. We prepare the file, submit it and chase the insurer until it settles.
Important considerations
The things a brochure tends to leave out. Read these before you decide.
- The number of listed conditions matters less than how each one is defined. A plan listing sixty conditions with strict severity definitions can pay less often than one listing twenty with reasonable ones.
- The survival period is a real condition, not a formality. Death within it means no critical illness payout, which is one reason this cover complements term insurance rather than replacing it.
- Check what happens after a claim. Many plans end; if you want cover to continue, you need a multi-claim variant and should price it deliberately.
- A rider on a term plan is cheaper; a standalone policy is usually broader and survives the term plan. Decide which trade-off suits you rather than defaulting to the cheaper one.
- This is not a substitute for health insurance. It pays no hospital bill. Hold both, or you have insured only half the problem.
Documents required
- Completed proposal form with full medical disclosure
- Identity proof — Aadhaar, passport, voter ID or driving licence
- Address proof
- PAN card
- Recent passport-size photograph
- Medical reports, where the insurer requires them at your age or sum insured
- Existing policy copy, if you are porting
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from my health insurance?
Health insurance reimburses hospital bills; a critical illness policy pays a lump sum on diagnosis and asks no questions about how you use it. The costs it answers — lost income, a carer leaving work, travel for treatment, a loan still being serviced — are exactly the ones an indemnity policy never touches.
What is a survival period?
A window after diagnosis, commonly 14 to 30 days, that you must survive for the benefit to become payable. It is what makes this a living benefit rather than a death benefit, and it is why the cover sits alongside term insurance rather than in place of it.
Does it cover early-stage cancer?
It depends on the plan. General critical illness policies often pay only on cancers of specified severity, while cancer-specific plans commonly pay a proportion on early stage and the balance on major stage. If early detection matters to you, the cancer-specific structure is usually the better fit.
Does the policy continue after I claim?
On most plans, no — the policy pays once and terminates. Multi-claim variants exist, usually grouping conditions so that a claim in one group leaves the others live. They cost more and are worth considering if this is your only such cover.
Should I buy a standalone policy or a rider?
A rider on your term plan is cheaper and simpler. A standalone policy usually covers more conditions, can be sized independently and continues even if the term plan ends. If the budget is tight, start with the rider; if the cover is important to you, the standalone is generally the better instrument.
Want a shortlist instead of a catalogue?
Tell us the situation and an advisor comes back with two or three options that actually fit — and names what each one gives up.