I am 45 with hypertension and diabetes. I went through a heart bypass surgery (CABG) last year. The surgery was successful and all parameters are normal now. I plan to buy a life and health insurance policy. I tried to get life insurance from a leading player and disclosed all my ailments upfront. But, after all the tests, they said they will not be in a position to issue me a policy. Can you help me identify a good life and health insurance for heart bypass patients?

Sudarshan

Cardio-vascular Diseases (CVDs) are today a primary cause of mortality in India and in the coming few years, and are expected to carry significant economic and social burden on the Indian population.

Generally, a health insurance plan covers you for all hospitalisation expenses along with pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses as well. Considering the rising incidences of cardiac disease in India, numerous insurers have even come up with customised fixed benefit health plans that only cater to conditions related to heart or critical illness plans. These plans provide financial protection in case you are diagnosed with a cardiac condition. Just like a fixed benefit plan, under these plans too, the entire sum insured is paid out to the insured on diagnosis of a CVD. The payout amount can be used for the treatment of the illness and even compensate for the loss of income due to the recovery period. Coming back to the query, you could look at Cardiac care plan from Star Health or Care Heart from Care Health Insurance. These aren't very expensive .

As far as life insurance goes, term insurance plans provide a very huge cover against a very small premium. But it gets difficult to price a very high risk with such plans. Hence, insurers across the world find it tough to provide term insurance for customers with multiple ailments.

The writer is Head - Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com

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