Diabetes Insurance Plan

By Author: raghavendrawibl
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases affecting the population and the number just keeps rising. Especially in India, the instances of diabetes-related deaths have risen by 50% between 2005 and 2015. It is officially ranked at #7 in most common causes of death in the country!

When a disease takes hold of a large population, hospital bills rise. That is unless people have diabetes-specific insurance covering the expenses. Without such an insurance plan, covering the bills becomes a burden borne by the patient. On one hand, when there is the physical suffering, this becomes an added financial suffering.

What exactly is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic illness, which affects the pancreas’ ability, which are significant glands in our body, to produce insulin, therefore affecting the entire functioning of the body.

This condition can cause several further complications like:

Heart Disease
Stroke
Kidney Failure
Vision Loss
Nerve Damage
India is home to the second-highest number of diabetes patients at 69.1 million patients, as of 2016. This puts us second in the ...
... world, behind China, which has 109 million. By 2040, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) predicts that India will have 123 million diabetes cases between the ages of 20-79.

This is why a diabetes-specific insurance plan is the need of the hour for all the patients. Having one creates a safety net for you so that your hospitalization needs are completely taken care of!

Why should you go for a diabetes-specific plan?

Anyone between the ages of 18 and 65 can purchase a diabetes insurance plan. And, even better, there is no waiting period anymore! Simply find an insurance provider who fits your needs and get a plan for your medical benefits!

Another fact is that you do not have to purchase a pure diabetes plan. While a lot of people would prefer that since it targets the disease directly, there are larger plans which cover diabetes within them. Doing a bit of research is all it takes to find the perfect plan for you.

That said, purchasing a diabetes-specific plan is always a good idea. Sure, a general health cover plan can cover the cost of the first instance of hospitalization due to a diabetic situation but additional instances may create challenges in terms of renewals and coverage.

"Generally, health insurance plans treat diabetes as a pre-existing disease and put a waiting period on the policy, which is around 12 months to 2 years but can sometimes go up to 4 years. So it is sensible to buy a diabetes-specific plan which is way more comprehensive than the health plans and also covers various complexities.”

When should you buy a diabetes-specific plan?

While having regular health insurance is always a good idea, the reason a diabetes-specific plan should be on your mind is that a regular or basic health insurance does not always provide cover for it. Unless you inform your insurers as soon as you are diagnosed with diabetes, there is no guarantee that your health insurance covers your diabetes treatment needs.

This also makes sense since it allows you to purchase a diabetes-specific plan after you get diagnosed with diabetes. Instead of pre-emptively purchasing one on the off chance that you get diabetes, these plans cover you after diagnosis. This makes it a better idea than regular health insurance since it comes with a guarantee of covering hospitalization costs.

The Downside of the Diabetes-specific Plan

Although the pros outweigh the cons in terms of ease, coverage etc.; it must be acknowledged that a diabetes-specific insurance plan is more expensive than regular health insurance. It can also cost more than other disease-specific plans.

This could be attributed to several reasons:

The rising incidence of diabetes makes insurers perceive a higher risk of payouts
The plan is specialized
Even after taking everything the disease causes into account, there is a high probability that the insured patient outlives the policy term
In the case of patients possibly outliving the policy term, life-long renewals are offered – especially if the patient is over 65 years of age.

Diabetes can be life-threatening and worsens with age. Having an excellent and reliable insurer is one of the best ways of avoiding complications and discomfort during the disease. This is why we at Cover 360 are here for your insurance needs.

We believe in giving you all your options and help you choose the best insurance plans for your needs. Our experts are available over call, email or text all day, every day to answer every question you have about insurance and insurance plans!