Bharti AXA Life Triple Health Insurance plan: How does it measure up?

Raj Pradhan 12 October 2011

Bharti AXA’s plan offers cover of a maximum of three times the sum assured under the policy, while covering three critical illnesses. The premium is waived by the insurance company after payment for the first critical illness. But it comes with some riders

Bharti AXA Life Insurance has launched its ‘triple benefit’ critical illness plan, called the Triple Health Insurance plan. This plan covers 13 critical illnesses that have been classified into three groups. The policy pays the sum assured (SA) on the diagnosis of one of the illnesses. The policy continues and can pay for additional critical illnesses as long as they are in other groups. The maximum coverage is for three critical illnesses.

As with all the insurance plans being offered by various insurance industry players, this one also has its advantages and shortcomings. Here are few of the advantages:

The plan offers cover of a maximum of three times the SA under the policy. This is a distinctive feature of the product, as other critical illness policies end, once the claim is paid for a single critical illness.
Future premium payable by the policyholder is waived. The policy continues as the policyholder is still covered for illnesses under the remaining two groups.
Premium rates are guaranteed for the first three policy years.

However, the plan does suffer from a few shortcomings.

The product will not pay a claim if the diagnosed critical illness falls in the group under which the policy has already paid out. Group ‘A’ includes conditions like heart attack, coronary artery bypass, kidney or heart transplants, kidney failure and paralysis. Group ‘B’ has coma, multiple sclerosis, liver or lung transplants. Group C covers cancer, benign brain tumours and bone marrow transplants.
There has to be a gap of 365 days between the diagnoses of two illnesses for the subsequent claims to be admissible.
The product is available for customers with no pre-existing illnesses at the time of application.
The total policy and premium paying term is 15 years—which is unlike most critical illness products, which have lifelong renewal.

HOW THE PLAN MEASURES UP AGAINST OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

There will be a waiting period of 90 days from the policy’s inception. The policyholder needs to survive for 30 days after the diagnosis of the critical illness to claim policy benefit. This is standard in critical illness products.
The minimum and maximum ages at entry are 18 and 50, respectively, with the upper age limit at maturity being 65 years. You have to buy a cover of at least Rs2 lakh, while the highest cover available under the policy is Rs30 lakh.

The product offers option of return of premium at increased premium. It gives survival benefit and a death benefit in case you have made no claims during the term. The policyholder gets 15 times the first year premium on survival. In case of death, the nominee gets a sum equal to the first-year premium multiplied by the number of years the policy has completed.

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