HDFC enters health insurance with critical care

Private sector life insurance major HDFC Standard Life, has decided to enter into health insurance market with its product – HDFC Critical Care.

This flagship product is expected to provide an insurance cover against 30 critical illnesses. A person can get himself covered for a minimum sum assured of Rs. 2 lakhs and a maximum sum assured of Rs 20-lakhs.

This health insurance product will provide a lump sum benefit payment irrespective of actual medical cost, flexible premium payment option and a benefit payable on survival for a period of 30 days post diagnosis of the critical illness..

The maximum term available for the cover is 20 years, while the minimum tenure is five years. The minimum and maximum age at entry is 18 and 55 years respectively.

The maximum age at expiry of the policy can be 65 years.

This critical illness policy comes with a unique feature, where if a person is diagnosed with a set of critical illness categorized as ‘Group B’, he/she can get a premium waiver option. Under such a situation, 50 per cent of the sum assured would be paid in case of a valid claim and post the claim all further premiums would be borne by HDFC Standard Life and the policy would continue, the release said.

Critical health insurance being the first such product, the company also plans to launch other health care products like surgical care and hospital cash in near future.

“Our entry into health insurance market is a significant move in line with our business objective. The low penetration of health insurance in India gives us a tremendous opportunity to provide quality health insurance,” HDFC Standard Life's Managing Director & CEO, Deepak Satwalekar, said.