In April 2016, popular Bollywood celebrity, Emraan Hashmi launched his book “The kiss of life: How a superhero and my son defeated cancer”. The book talks about Emraan Hashmi’s traumatic experience that he as a parent had to undergo when Ayaan, his four year old son, was diagnosed with cancer and the ways in which he helped his son to cope up with the chemotherapy treatment that followed afterwards. In 2014, at the age of 4, Ayaan was diagnosed with a tumour in his kidney. He had to undergo surgical procedures for removal of the tumour and chemotherapy in Canada. Thankfully the surgery was successful and the malignant tumour was removed.
The book is an effort by Emraan Hashmi for creating awareness about cancer and the ways in which it can impact one’s life. When you read the book it instils in your mind as to how cancer can creep into your life and affect your loved ones.
The experience of Emraan Hashmi somewhere reiterates the fact that cancer is emerging as one of the most life threating diseases. There are theories with regard to lifestyle habits, smoking, pollution, genetics etc. that can cause cancer. The cases of cancer, in India and abroad are rising with every passing year.
Inspite of all the misconceptions with regard to cancer, the one fact that all medical fraternity agrees on is that cancer is now curable if it is diagnosed at an early stage. With this fact in mind, some insurance companies have come up with cancer plans which help the policyholder to lessen the financial burden incurred in the treatment of cancer.
In this article we will discuss about Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan launched by Max Life Insurance Company.
Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan
Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan is a plan that pays a lump sum amount to the insured in the event of he / she getting diagnosed with cancer. The amount can offset the huge expenses that the insured might incur in the treatment of cancer. This lump sum pay-out will depend on the cancer stage at the time of diagnosis.
Let us look at the features of the plan.
1. Coverage and benefits offered: Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan covers the following stages of cancer: Carcinoma-in-Situ (CiS), early stage and major stage of cancer. Benefits offered under the plan are segregated on the basis of cancer stage:
|
Stage |
Benefits offered |
| Carcinoma-in-Situ (CiS) or early stage of cancer | In the event of insured getting diagnosed with CiS or early stage of cancer: a) 20% of the basic or indexed sum insured (whichever is applicable) will be paid b) All the future premiums payable under the policy will be waived and the policy will continue. |
| Major stage of cancer | In the event of insured getting diagnosed with major stage of cancer: a) 100% of the basic or indexed sum insured (whichever is applicable) will be paid minus prior cumulative lump sum payments made in the event of early stage of cancer or CiS. b) 10% of basic sum insured will be payable annually for the next 5 years |
2. Sum insured: The minimum amount of sum insured that a policyholder can choose is Rs. 10 lakhs and maximum limit is of Rs. 50 lakhs. A policyholder can choose an amount as sum insured between these ranges at the interval of Rs. 5 lakhs.
3. Eligibility criteria: The entry age is minimum of 25 years and maximum of 65 years.
4. Policy term: The minimum policy term is of 10 years and the maximum policy term is of 40 years, subject to a maximum maturity age of 75 years.
5. Premium payment mode: The premium payment mode can be either monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. The premium payment mode can be changed during the policy term.
6. Premium waiver benefit: In the event of insured getting diagnosed with CiS or early stage cancer, all future premiums will be waived and the policy will continue.
7. Income tax benefit: Policyholder can avail deduction from taxable income for the premium paid under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, subject to specified limits, terms and conditions.
8. Survival benefit / death benefit / maturity benefit: Under this plan there is no survival benefit, death benefit or maturity benefit offered. The insurance company shall be liable to pay the claim on diagnosis of carcinoma-in-situ / early stage cancer and major cancer to policyholder.
For filing a claim, a 180 days waiting period is applicable from the date of commencement or date of reinstatement of cover. In the event of diagnosis of cancer, a seven day survival period will be applicable for the policyholder to be eligible to file a claim.
9. Income benefit: In the event of insured getting diagnosed with major stage of cancer, an amount equivalent of 10% of basic sum insured will be payable annually for a period of 5 years.
In the event of death of the insured before the completion of 5 years, the income benefit amount for the remaining years will be payable to the insured’s nominee.
The income benefit will be paid even after the expiry of the plan. For example if the insured bought the plan for 15 years and is diagnosed with major cancer in the 13th year, then the income benefit will be paid till the 18th year even though the insurance plan expires in the 15th year.
10. Indexation benefit: Under this benefit, the sum insured will be increased by 10% (simple rate) every year till there is no claim filed by the insured in the past. This annual increase in sum insured can go up to maximum of 150% of basic sum insured. After taking the indexation benefit into consideration, the maximum sum insured under this plan cannot exceed Rs. 75 lakhs.
Points to ponder over for considering Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan
Benefits offered: Apart from lump sum amount payable on diagnosis of cancer, there are three benefits offered:
- Sum insured indexation benefit: If no claim is filed, then a 10% increase in sum insured (simple rate) is given for each year till the sum insured reaches a maximum of 150% of basic sum insured.
- Waiver of premium in the event of diagnosis of either Carcinoma-in-Situ or early stage of cancer
- Income benefit: 10% of basic sum insured is payable for a fixed period of 5 years on diagnosis of major stage of cancer
The above benefits offered by Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan make it worthy of consideration.
The benefits are payable based on the cancer stage diagnosed by a registered independent medical practitioner and histo-pathological report of a pathologist. The cancer stage needs to be clearly established by the medical report for the pay-out of the lump sum benefit.
For other terms and conditions, definitions of cancer and exclusions refer the company website or get in touch with the company representative.
Conclusion
Waiver of premium benefit, income benefit and sum insured indexation benefit will go a long way in helping the insured in reducing the financial burden that will be incurred by him / her due to the huge cost of cancer treatment. Overall Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan is a good plan to be considered taking into account the number of benefits being offered. The cost involved in the treatment of cancer and period of recuperation when an individual has to undergo chemotherapy is quite high. A good cancer plan such as Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan with all the benefits will help the individual in managing these expenses.
To read about review of HDFC Life Cancer Care click here
To read about comparison of Max Life Cancer Insurance Plan, HDFC Life Cancer Care, Aegon Life iCancer Insurance Plan and Birla Sun Life Cancer Shield Plan click here