Survival Period in Health Insurance
The rate of critical diseases has been heightened eminently, and a lot of people are getting trapped by these hazardous health risks. Most individuals consider this phase to be extremely long-term and demand rigorous, expensive treatments. This approach has made many people buy critical illness insurance policies.
However, you need to remember that every critical illness insurance plan comes with a survival period. A survival period in health insurance defines the period that the insured person must survive after being diagnosed with a critical health concern. In this article, we will learn everything about the survival period and why it is so critical.
What is a Survival Period in Health Insurance?
As we have discussed in the earlier section, the survival period in health insurance describes the period that the insured person must survive after being detected with a major health concern. For example, you can consider cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and much more.
This is an integral clause under the critical illness insurance policy. In this, the insurer doesn’t pay the coverage amount unless and until the insured person survives within the given period. Most of the time, critical illness health policies are available with a survival period of 90 days maximum.
If somehow you are detected with a critical health issue, your insurance company pays the lump sum amount under the critical illness insurance policy to cover your treatment charges. However, paying a lump sum amount to policyholders as soon as they get detected with critical issues will put a huge liability on the insurance provider. So, insurance companies have come up with this survival clause, which states that they will pay the amount only if the insured person survives within the given period.
Most people consider this aspect to be not viable enough. However, you should consider the survival period when buying your critical illness insurance policy. However, you should opt for the critical illness plan that has a shorter survival period. This approach can help you get the coverage amount quickly and minimise the financial burden that comes with a longer survival period.
What is a Critical Illness Insurance?
Talking about critical illness insurance, it is an integral type of health insurance policy that offers a lump sum payout if the insured individual is diagnosed with a serious illness covered under the policy. This is a bit different from regular health insurance, which pays your medical bills and hospitalization charges.
Through this, you can receive a fixed amount of money for the diagnosis, no matter what the actual treatment cost is. This insurance policy covers major illnesses like heart attack, cancer, kidney failure, organ transplant, and much more.
Why is the Survival Period Important?
When it comes to the survival period for critical illness insurance, you have to understand its crucial aspects as well. In this section, we highlight why the survival period is crucial for policyholders.
Leverage Purposeful Payouts
By applying a minimum survival window, insurance companies ensure that the payouts are reaching those who want to utilise them for their medical expenses and recovery. This way, the core principle of critical illness insurance coverage can be satiated.
Safeguards the sustainability of the policy
If you will get rid of short-term claims, the survival period asses insurers to manage risks more efficiently. This ensures the health plan is affordable and suitable for everyone.
Promotes Early Planning
It encourages individuals to get the policy as soon as possible instead of waiting for a health issue to occur. Apart from this, a broad range of benefits makes this plan more efficient.
Encourage Commitment
It majorly reflects mutual trust as the insurance provider promises protection, and the policyholder reflects the intent for long-term coverage. Through this, the commitment goals broaden.
It is Extremely Valuable in Critical Illness Plans
In policies that cover severe illnesses like heart disease or cancer, the survival period in critical illness confirms that the policyholder has effectively surpassed the critical event. So, they can easily be advantageous through the claims.
Differences between Survival Period and Waiting Period with an Example
To understand the differences between the survival period and the waiting period, first of all, we need to get into the meaning of these aspects.
Waiting Period in Health Insurance
A waiting period is considered to be the time you have to wait after your policy starts and when you will be availed of the desirable benefits. It is applied to all types of health insurance plans available in the UAE. There is a series of waiting period types you need to know about.
- Pre-existing condition waiting period: If you are suffering from health conditions like diabetes or BP, you need to wait for up to 4 years before they get covered.
- Start-up waiting period: you need to wait around 30 days before you start using the benefits of your health insurance.
- Maternity coverage waiting period: To avail of maternity-related benefits, the waiting period ranges between 1 to 4 years.
- Condition-specific waiting period: There are certain conditions like cataracts, endometriosis, mental health disorders, etc., where the waiting period can last up to 1 to 2 years.
The following waiting times may differ depending on the insurance companies you are choosing. Apart from this, there is no waiting period in health insurance is available in the case of accidents.
Survival Period in Insurance
The survival period is completely different from the waiting period, and it is a significant part of critical illness insurance. It is mainly known as the period you need to stay alive after being detected with a serious health concern like kidney failure, cancer, or heart disease. The money you get after your survival period can be utilised for your personal expenses or medical treatments. If somehow the insured period dies before the period, the survival period in health insurance will not be effective enough. The insurance company will not pay the viable amount as the following insurance plan doesn’t consist of a death benefit.
Major Differences:
| Concerns | Waiting Period | Survival Period |
|---|---|---|
| Where can you apply it? | This can be applied to any health insurance policy. | This is only applicable to critical illness insurance. |
| Duration of the plans | The waiting period ranges from an initial 30 days to 2-4 years long. | The survival period lasts up to 14 to 90 days. |
| What factors affect the duration? | It mainly depends on the insurance company and the illness. | The survival period also depends on the illness and the insurance company. |
Example:
Suppose a person gets a critical illness insurance policy on January 1, 2025. The following policy will have around a 90-day waiting period with a 30-day survival period. Within 90 days of the waiting period, the person is diagnosed with cancer, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or any other covered condition, they will not be eligible for a claim. As this is within the waiting period, his claim will not be payable.
If he had been diagnosed after the waiting period and unfortunately passed away within 20 days of the diagnosis, he still can’t get the payable amount. This is because he didn’t fulfil the survival period requirement. If that person survives 30 days post-diagnosis, the nominee can easily file the claim.
Features of the Survival Period in Health Insurance
There are multiple features of the survival period in health insurance that make it unique. For a detailed reference, you can go through the points below:
It lasts for around 30 days: Most of the insurance companies set the survival period time frame to be around 30 days. However, it may differ depending on the illness and the type of insurance companies you are choosing.
It is applied after the diagnosis only: The survival period begins only after the insured person is diagnosed with a critical illness. Such severe cases may include stroke, cancer, or a heart attack.
Necessary for claim approval: No matter how long the waiting period is or how severe the illness is, you can only claim the amount if you survive the survival period.
How to Choose the Right Critical Illness Plan with a Survival Period?
Choosing a valuable critical illness plan doesn’t only include verifying the coverage and premium range. You should also understand the survival period for critical illness insurance and how it aligns with your financial and health requirements. Here are some effective factors you need to abide by.
Check the list of illnesses covered: Instead of only looking at the number of illnesses the policy is covering, make sure to check if it includes high-risk conditions.
Assess the length of the survival period: Most of the plans regard a 30-day survival clause. However, it can vary depending on the type of insurance company you are choosing. So, make sure to check that.
Compare the waiting and survival period: A low survival period will be useful enough if the waiting period is reasonable as well. Make sure both of these periods are offering timely protection.
Add-ons and customisation: Prefer plans that let you personalise the coverage with riders, such as accidental death and hospital cash benefits.
FAQs about the Survival Period in Health Insurance
Is the survival period applicable to all health insurance plans?
No, the survival period does not apply to all types of health insurance plans. However, it is mainly related to critical illness insurance policies.
What happens if the policyholder dies during the survival period?
If the policyholder somehow dies during the survival period, the claim for critical illness is majorly denied. The policy requires survival beyond the particular period to pay the reliable amount. However, some policies deliver a death benefit under separate conditions.
How long is the survival period in UAE health insurance plans?
For UAE health insurance plans, the survival period for critical illness insurance policy mainly ranges from 30 days. This can differ depending on the policy terms and the insurance policy providers.
Can I choose a policy with no survival period?
Most of the critical illness insurance policies involve a survival period in the form of a standard feature. So, you can’t get a policy without a survival period.
Are survival periods the same for all illnesses under a critical illness plan?
Survival periods are majorly the same for all the illnesses included under a critical illness insurance policy. However, the same policies may specify variable survival periods for several conditions. So, you need to verify them before buying them randomly.
