The hidden cost of heart disease: Why every family needs critical illness insurance

Advancements in medical science have made heart disease more manageable than ever, empowering millions to live longer, healthier lives. While rising incomes have improved millions of lives, sedentary jobs and fast-paced lifestyles have fueled a surge in non-communicable diseases, now responsible for 56.7 per cent of all deaths, according to The Report on Causes of Death: 2021-2023. The report also identifies cardiovascular diseases as the leading cause, accounting for nearly 31 per cent of fatalities in India. With lifestyle-related illnesses on the rise, prioritising health and having a focused critical illness insurance cover is vital offering financial protection and helping families confidently navigate major health challenges.

The Union Budget 2026–27 draws attention to the growing challenge of non-communicable diseases, acknowledging that their impact extends well beyond hospital treatment. As lifestyle-related illnesses continue to rise, placing greater emphasis on preventive health and having a well-structured critical illness insurance cover becomes increasingly important, providing financial security and helping families cope more confidently with serious health events.

The real cost of an emergency

When an individual is diagnosed with a serious illness like a cardiac condition, cancer, or needs a big surgery, the decisions and costs can be overwhelming. Families often face mounting expenses for treatment, medicines, and recovery, making it harder to manage daily needs or long-term goals. Although standard health insurance is designed to cover hospital bills and emergency treatments, it usually also covers expenses such as surgery, doctor fees, and ambulance charges. While regular health insurance is the first step in staying protected, it doesn’t cover additional costs that arise after leaving the hospital.

This is where critical cover helps. On diagnosis of a serious illness like cancer, heart attack, or kidney failure, it provides a lump sum payout that can be used for treatment, care, or daily expenses paid irrespective of hospital costs, subject to policy conditions.

Having a health and critical illness insurance policy works best. Health insurance offers a safety net for medical emergencies and hospital care. On the other hand, critical illness insurance provides an additional layer of protection for more severe conditions that necessitate prolonged treatments, significant lifestyle changes, or loss of income. Together, they ensure that getting sick does not mean losing savings, giving up plans, or worrying about the costs of recovery.

Benefits of critical illness insurance

A Critical illness policy is a necessity in today’s times with changing lifestyle and rising costs of healthcare. It is a policy that offers comprehensive coverage against life-threatening conditions and protects your finances.

• The lumpsum and flexibility advantage

Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, the lump sum payout provides policyholders with flexibility to use a significant portion of the payout to fulfil major medical needs.

As medical expenses rise and are often unpredictable, a lump-sum payout ensures timely access to best-in-class treatments and ensures that finances are not a constraint. Health insurance offers a comprehensive solution; standard plans help with hospitalisation, while critical illness coverage provides lump-sum payments, allowing families to protect their savings, maintain their living standards, and focus on recovery.

• Flexibility

Comprehensive plans allow you to customize your plan with add-on riders based on individual or family needs. You can even simply extend your health insurance coverage to include critical illness, which is a more economical option.

• Peace of mind

Critical illness insurance offers a unique layer of protection by providing a lump-sum payout upon the diagnosis of a covered critical illness.

Early proactive insurance plans are crucial for households to combat medical inflation and manage sudden health emergencies. To stay truly protected, families should not only purchase insurance early but also review and update their policies as life circumstances change, such as adding critical illness riders, checking disease exclusions, or reduced waiting periods.

Making timely improvements to both lifestyle and insurance coverage ensures that families can handle any crisis with confidence, without sacrificing their financial or personal goals.