To answer this question, let us begin at the basics.
What is term insurance?
A term insurance policy is a pure protection plan. It is a type of life insurance plan that provides the policyholder with a life cover for a certain specified period known as the policy tenure. The policyholder, in turn, is required to make periodic and regular payments to the insurer for the life cover policy he has purchased.
If the policyholder happens to die during the tenure of the term policy, his nominees or beneficiaries will receive a death benefit in the form of a certain predetermined amount of money. The term insurance premium is mostly lower than other types of life insurance products.
Does term insurance cover death due to cancer?
Yes, a term insurance policy covers deaths due to diseases like cancer. However, a term plan would cover cancer only if the policyholder was healthy when he bought the policy and were diagnosed with the disease during the policy tenure. Policyholder is expected to declare their health conditions before purchasing the term insurance plan. If an individual suffered from the disease before purchasing a term insurance plan, his application may either be rejected or put on hold by the insurance company, since that would be a case of a pre-existing disease. Waiting period could be applicable for pre-existing diseases as per terms and conditions specified therein.
In addition to a life cover, many term insurance plans also offer add on riders such as critical illness benefit riders to the base policy. Note that these riders provided to the policyholder as an additional monetary benefit are not over and above the base sum assured in case they are diagnosed with critical illnesses, which are covered under the respective rider, However CI benefit is paid from death benefit itself
Can I buy term insurance for a cancer patient?
If you are a healthy individual, you can certainly purchase a term plan that offers coverage for deaths due to cancer. However, in case of people who have already been diagnosed with the illness, it may not be possible to get a cover for the disease.
How to buy term insurance for a cancer patient?
Most insurance service providers do not offer term insurance plans for individuals who have already been diagnosed with cancer. If an individual already has the disease, he is required to disclose the existence of the disease while applying for a term insurance plan. If the insurance provider becomes aware of any such non-disclosure in the future, any and all claims related to the term insurance policy may end up being denied depending on the terms and conditions specified by the insurance provider in the policy.
Alternatively, if you are a healthy individual with no pre-existing conditions or ailments, you could opt for a term insurance plan that covers diseases like cancers. In that case, here is how you can buy term insurance -
● Visit the website of your insurance service provider.
● Select the term insurance plan of your choice from their list of products.
● Fill the online application form. You would need to enter details such as Full Name, your address, age, gender, and occupation, among others.
● Once you have filled the application form, you will then be required to attach certain documents such as proof of identity and proof of address, among others.
● Upon attaching these documents, submit the application form and make the payment.
● Once the insurer approves your application, you will receive a copy of the policy document via an email or SMS depending on the life insurance provider’s modes of communication.
On the other hand, if you prefer to buy term insurance through the offline mode, all that you need to do is visit the nearest branch of your insurance service provider. The branch officials will help you with respect to the purchase of a term insurance plan of your choice.
Things to keep in mind while choosing a term plan than covers cancer
When choosing to buy a term insurance plan, there are certain key factors that you should keep in mind. Here is a glimpse of some of them.
● Check if the term insurance policy covers diseases like cancer.
● Check the sum assured component of the term policy. It is always a good idea to go for a policy with a sum assured component that is sizable.
● IIt is advisable to opt for a term plan that offers a critical illness benefit rider
Conclusion
Before you go ahead and purchase a term insurance plan, ensure that you thoroughly read and understand all the terms and conditions contained in the policy document. In addition, it is highly recommended to pick a term plan that suits your needs.