Survival Period

Generally survival period comes under health insurance and life insurance policies that cover particular critical illnesses. This is the time period that the insured must live after getting diagnosed with a critical illness for a successful claim.

The survival period is an essential clause in every critical illness policy. The duration of the survival period varies from a couple of days to a month depending upon the selected plan.

When a policyholder is diagnosed with a critical illness the life insurance company pays a lump sum to cover the medical expenses. If the disease is diagnosed at a supercritical stage, and the insured is unable to survive despite every possible medical care, then it poses a greater liability for the insurer. So there is the implementation of the survival period.

If the insured is surviving this period after getting diagnosed with a critical illness then that is a signal that the person will be able to survive the disease if provided the required medical treatment. So the insurance company can disburse the sum assured. If the life insured fails to outlive the survival period then the insurance company does not pay the coverage amount.

Ritesh bought a critical illness cover when he was 25 years old. However, he was diagnosed with cancer when he turned 35 years old. “After the diagnosis of the disease, the insured must survive a period of 15 days to make a claim”- This was the survival period clause mentioned in his policy. Ritesh was able to outlive the survival period of 15 days and the insurance company released the applicable sum assured as mentioned in the policy.