Single disease insurance catches on but is it for everyone?

MUMBAI: Single-disease cover is catching on in the health insurance domain and is designed for specific ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.

Is this better than comprehensive health cover?

Health insurance is one of the fastest-growing segments in the general insurance industry and companies are introducing innovative products to exploit the potential.

Policies targeting critical illnesses look to provide cover against lifestyle diseases, given that treatment of such ailments can be expensive.

For most people though it makes more sense to avail of a comprehensive health cover.

However, most health insurance plans start covering pre-existing ailments only after a waiting period of four years or so.

"While choosing a health insurance plan, one must look at a comprehensive policy that will at least take care of his or her hospitalisation expenses due to any ailment or accident including room rent, pre and post-hospitalisation expenses, ambulance charges, cost of medicines as well as doctors’ charges,” said Abhijeet Ghosh, head, health insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

Single-disease policies are generally bought by people who are in the high-risk category.

“Since the base hospitalisation policy covers all diseases except the excluded ones, a single-disease policy is not required,” said Sanjay Datta, chief, underwriting and claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance.

“Only such single diseases that are otherwise excluded in regular hospitalisation policy may be relevant.”