​Understanding the nuances of health insurance is crucial for making informed decisions. Two important terms often encountered are the Survival Period and the Waiting Period. These periods play distinct roles in health insurance policies, impacting when benefits can be accessed.

This blog delves into waiting period vs survival period in health insurance in India, helping you navigate your policy’s terms more effectively.

What is a Waiting Period in Health Insurance?

The waiting period in health plans refers to the time duration within which you, as the policyholder, cannot access the financial coverage provided by the insurer. During this period, you cannot claim the benefits from your insurance company and have to wait for a specific period before filing a claim.

It is also called the “cooling period”, and the duration can last from months to years, depending upon the type of policy and coverage offered.

While the waiting period duration, along with its terms and conditions, is different for every insurer, your insurer is not liable to either approve or accept any claim you file during this period. It means that if you are hospitalised during your waiting period, you will not be able to claim financial coverage for the medical bills incurred during your hospitalisation while your waiting period is on.

Waiting Period in Insurance - Types

The features of the waiting period in health policy are based on its types. Here are some waiting period types that are commonly found in most health policies, including the plans offered by Reliance General Insurance:

Initial Waiting Period

This is the period right after you buy a health policy. The insurer does not provide financial coverage for any claims made during this timeframe. Reliance General Insurance offers a short-term initial waiting period of 15-30 days to enable you to access proper healthcare as soon as possible.

Waiting Period for Specific Illnesses

Specific treatments or diseases come with separate waiting periods, which again vary from insurer to insurer and usually last up to two years.

Waiting Period for Pre-existing Conditions

Before you can buy health coverage, you have to declare whether or not you are already suffering from any medical condition known as a pre-existing condition. The waiting period generally extends from 1 to 4 years if you’ve any pre-existing health issues.  However, our health plans, such as our Reliance Health Gain Insurance Policy, come with shorter waiting periods for pre-existing conditions.

Waiting Period for Maternity Benefits

In the case of maternity benefits,  there is a waiting period to ride out, which can last from 9-36 months.

Reliance Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy and Reliance Personal Accident 360Shield are health insurance with no waiting period, which offer you the benefit of being financially protected from the start date of these policies.

What Does Survival Period in Insurance Mean?​

The survival period refers to the time duration that you, as the policyholder, must survive after being diagnosed with a critical ailment (like cancer, heart or kidney failure, etc.). It is specific to critical illness health policies. Reliance General Insurance offers a survival period of 30 to 60 days so that you can get early access to much-needed medical care.

The Idea Behind Survival Period in Critical Illness Policy

When it comes to the survival period in critical illness, the first thing to remember is that critical illnesses demand quality medical care and treatments that can be very expensive.  At Reliance General Insurance, we cover the exorbitant expenses incurred due to treatment of a critical ailment, such as cancer, organ transplant, etc., under this health policy.

Though, as the policyholder, you are unburdened from a substantial expense, a critical health insurance policy includes clauses such as “survival period” so that you benefit from this health policy after surviving the stipulated time period specified in the critical illness policy.

<h2> Aspects and Features of Survival Period </h2>

• All health plans come with a waiting period clause, but the survival period clause is specific to critical illness health plans only.

• In critical illness policy, both survival period and waiting period clauses are usually applicable, and the waiting period is usually longer than the survival period.

• The survival period clause takes effect only after you, as the policyholder, are diagnosed with a critical ailment. It is a short duration, after which the policyholder can avail of financial assistance for medical treatment for his/her critical illness.

Waiting Period vs Survival Period

It is clear from above that the waiting period is very different from the survival period, as the latter is policy-specific while the former is common to all health policies. Knowing these commonly used health insurance terms is the key to buying the right health policy.

Conclusion

So, now that you have a clear understanding of the difference between the waiting period and the survival period, you can start your research on finding the right insurer for your health plan.

Reliance General Insurance provides access to affordable health insurance policy options, which offer extensive coverage, a higher sum insured at economical premiums and profitable discount options.

Our website provides more information about our health insurance plans, which can help you financially protect your family from medical expenses.

Frequently Asked Questions​

What are the aspects of the waiting period and survival period to look for before investing in a health policy?​​​​

Generally, you should research a health policy from a trusted insurer, which includes minimum survival and waiting periods. However, that does not mean that you should overlook aspects like coverage extent and premium cost while considering a health policy for you and your family.

Is it possible to reduce the waiting period o​n a health policy?​​​

Yes, reputed insurers give you the option of a reduction in the waiting period on their health policies. You can opt for this benefit on the specified health policy offered by the insurer.