What is the Survival Period in Health Insurance?

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In the era of consistent inflation and rising healthcare costs, having a good and adequate health cover is essential for anyone who wishes to live a happy life without worrying about the expenses of various health issues.

While the general awareness regarding having a proper health cover has increased among the masses, many people are either confused or ignorant about some important terms and definitions related to their health plan.

The survival period is one such important clause that an insured person must know before buying a health plan.

Survival Period

The insured person must survive a stipulated period after being diagnosed with a critical illness, such as cancer, stroke, etc. This time is known as the survival period.

Generally, a survival period can be anywhere between 15 days to 30 days depending upon the type of health plan.

Consider the following example to understand this clause better:

Mr Ajay Kumar has a health cover with a critical illness rider for cancer. His critical illness rider comes with a 15 days survival period.

He was unfortunately diagnosed with lung cancer on April 1, 2021. Now, he must survive till April 15, 2021, for claiming his cancer cover benefits because the survival period on his critical illness rider is 15 days.

Ideal Survival Period to Choose

Shorter time

As illustrated in the above example, an insured person must survive the duration mentioned in the survival period. Therefore, you should choose plans that come with a shorter survival period.

A 15-day survival period should be enough as even in critical illnesses, a patient can be expected to survive this time without too much trouble.

Exemption in Certain Cases

Choose reputed insurance providers who allow exemption from the survival periods in special situations such as personal accidents, etc.

Difference Between Survival Period and Waiting Period

People tend to confuse the survival period with the waiting period. However, they are significantly different from each other.

Survival Period	Waiting Period
It commences from the time of diagnosis of a critical illness.	It commences from the date of issue of the policy regardless of whether the insured person is diagnosed with any illness or not.
It is generally present in a critical insurance policy. Furthermore, it may not be applicable in some cases, like personal accident riders.	The waiting period is applicable in all types of health insurance with varied periods.

The survival period is too important to ignore while purchasing a health insurance plan. You should carefully go through the policy documents to know the time listed as the survival period.

Remember, proper knowledge and awareness about this clause can guard you and your family members against unwanted surprises in the time of any medical crisis.