Critical Illness plan vs. Hospitalization and Surgical plan: What are the differences?

A Hospitalization and Surgical Plan is also known as a health insurance plan and will pay for a set of specific hospitalization and surgical expenses. This usually includes the room charges, prescription medicines, surgical fees, anaesthesiologist fees and other related fees. There are maximum benefit limits for every benefit prescribed.

On the other hand, a critical illness insurance policy will pay a lump sum upon diagnosis of a covered critical illness.

These two work differently and are really distinct from each other.

Here’s a table outlining the differences of the two kinds of plans:

	Hospitalization & Surgical Plan	Critical Illness Insurance
Purpose of coverage	To help fund treatments for the critical illness.	To help pay for the hospitalization and surgical expenses of the Insured.
Claims payment method	Lump sum when the insured is diagnosed with a critical illness claim.	Reimbursement (when the Insured pays for the treatments) or direct payment to hospital.
What is paid	Lump sum equivalent to the face amount.	What is actually spent during the hospitalization and surgery, up to specified limits and up to a limited number of days. The policy will usually have a schedule of benefits that outline what the insurance will pay.
Reason for claims payment	Diagnosis of a covered critical illness. There are only a number of specific illnesses that are covered n the policy. This will not pay if the illness does not qualify under the definitions of the policy.	Basically,hospitalization that is a result of any illness or injury due to accident. Self-inflicted injuries are usually excluded.
Limitations	This is only for critical illnesses.	Is limited only to hospitalization. Will only pay up to the limits. Anything over the limit will be shouldered by the Insured. Depending on the type of plan, direct payments by the Insurance company to the hospital or medical provider are limited only to accredited hospitals.
Length of coverage	Once a claim is paid, the insurance policy terminates.	Is usually renewable yearly. The cover will continue even after a claim as long as the policy is effective.

Cover Details
Type of Insurance
Type of cover
Over what period?
Amount of cover
Type of premium
Personal Details
Title
First Name
Last Name
Date of birth
Do you smoke?	No Yes
Email address
Home phone
Work phone
Mobile Phone
Is this a joint application?	No Yes
App. 2: Title
App. 2: First Name
App. 2: Last Name
App. 2: Date of birth
App. 2: Do you smoke?	No Yes
House Number
House/Flat name
Street
Area
Town
County
Postcode