Disability Insurance plan | details | Coverage |Claim |Renewal
Insurance plans generally cover the cost incurred during the period of treatment of illnesses or hospitalization. And people generally insure for their valuables like property, vehicle and heath. But not everyone thinks and insure for the ability to work and earn a living. However, what will happen if you suffer from a sudden disability, forcing you to give up your work or income? Partial disability may lead to financial losses, while permanent disabilities can result in an inability to save for the future too. To manage the outcome of such situations here is an insurance plan called disability insurance that you can opt for.
What is a Disability Insurance Plan ?
Disability insurance plane as the name implies is a short of insurance that pays to the policy holder in the event of partial or permanent disability to earn the living due to accident of illness. This kind of insurance helps to provide a part of your lost income along with the medical expenses, in the event you happened to meet with an accident that led to disability. It covers sick leave, and offers disability benefits for short and long-term periods.
Types of Disability Insurance plans
There are two types of plans available in Disability Insurance
Short-term Disability Insurance plan
- Waiting period for the plan ranges between 0 to 14 days
- Benefits can be availed for a period of maximum 2 years
- Injuries since birth, injuries caused due to an accident and after long-term ailments which can be recovered after a period of time are eligible
Long-term Disability Insurance plan
- Waiting period ranges between weeks to even months
- Policyholders are eligible to avail the benefits for their lifelong
- Covers critical illnesses and injuries which lead to force the policy holder to discontinue their work and earning stops
- Covers a wide range of mental illnesses, cancer, cardiovascular ailments, tissue rupture, similar diseases and so on
Eligibility criteria for the Disability insurance plan
While the minimum and maximum sum insured varies from person to person, the minimum age for insuring is 18 years and maximum age for insuring is 70 years.
What is covered in Disability Insurance?
A disability can happen due to several reasons. Let us understand the coverage offered by this Disability insurance plan
- Offered a weekly benefit as compensation for the income which is lost due to short-term disabilities, till to a particular period as mentioned in the policy details.
- In case an accident leading to disability, the policy holder will receive 125% of the sum insured by the insurance company
- Some disability insurance policy offers a waiver of premium in their base coverage
- Some of the disability insurance covers blindness, poor-vision, hearing loss, mental illness and so on.
Process of Claim and period of settlement
In case of an assurance of the even, on behalf of the insured person, someone from the family needs to immediately intimate the insurance company about the claim case through the customer care support. In order to process the claim for accidental permanent/partial disability, following documents are need to be submitted to the insurance company:
- Duly filled in and signed claim form
- Hospital discharge summary
- Final hospital bill
- Certificate of disability issued by a medical board
- Medical and fitness certificate with seal and stamp in case of accidental temporary/total disability.
Period of Settlement
On receiving the claim information and required documents, the insurance company will assist them and compensate them within 7-30 days from the date of the accident occurred
What is not covered in Disability Insurance plan
Certain conditions are usually not covered under disability insurance. Let us look on these cases:
- Any pre-existing medical condition
- Injuries and disabilities due to suicide attempts, war, aviation accident, normal pregnancy and so on
- Any disability due to incarceration
Important Features of Disability Insurance plan
It is important to know all the little details about disability insurance so that you reap the benefits when needed. Let us look at some of the important features of disability insurance:
- An individual may choose to have a separate accident policy for a comprehensive coverage or can opt for accident cover as a rider. If you are looking for basic protection, it is advisable for an individual to opt for the nominally add-on rider option. However, one should know that rider may not cover all the benefits which a single accident cover will
- Before buying a disability insurance, an individual should know that the idea is to compensate your income, so choose a plan that provides coverage which can enable you to maintain your current lifestyle even if you cannot earn
Benefits of Buying Disability Insurance.
Here is a list of benefits for Disability insurance:
- Accident or disability of the earning member of a family can have a tremendous impact on the financial status on the individual as well as the family. Having disability insurance will keep you and your family secure in case of any mishap
- If an accident leads to disability, chances are high for you to be unable to work for some time. Thus, disability insurance can help pay for the essential expenses of living
- One can save tax by having disability insurance as the premium paid towards this is exempted as per Income Tax Act, 1961
FAQs
Q1. Why should one avail disability insurance?
Answer. It provides extra cover in case of unforeseeable accidents. Disability insurance will offer financial protection if one meets with an accident or illness causing a temporary or permanent disability, making one unable to work.
Q2. Can one avail disability insurance if one has an existing disability?
Answer. No, one cannot avail disability insurance if one already has a disability. In fact, it is mandatory that one must submit a medical fitness report, stating that one does not have any disability when one applies for a disability insurance.
Q3. How much amount should be considered for disability insurance?
Answer. The insured amount under disability insurance should be 60% of your income after tax deduction.
Q4. Does this insurance hold good only for accidents?
Answer. No, long-term disability insurance is mostly availed for illnesses.
Q5. Do one need to consider the company repute before taking this insurance from it?
Answer. Yes, otherwise a weak company might not be able to provide the claim amount when needed.
Companies Offering Disability Insurance
- Max Bupa
- HDFC Life
- ICICI Lombard
- PNB MetLife Insurance