IF CANCER STRIKES, HEALTH INSURANCE CHOICES MATTER

All health insurance policies today cover cancer.

- KAPIL MEHTA

Thankfully, the days of ambiguity—about which cancers or treatments were included—are largely behind us. Modern policies are generally comprehensive, better defined, and far more transparent than they once were.

Yet, cancer coverage deserves special attention. It is common, expensive to treat, often involves emerging therapies, and can recur even after years of remission.

This year, five friends of mine, all in their 50s and 60s, were diagnosed with late-stage cancer. What shocked me was that they were all fit and health-conscious; genetics, it seems, ruled their fate. Each spent over ₹30 lakh on treatment, and one will eventually end up paying ₹60 lakh.

Costs of this magnitude, especially when concentrated over a year or two, can financially cripple even well-prepared families. In my own company’s review of health claims, cancer continues to be the leading reason an insurance policy's full sum assured gets exhausted.

While traditional surgery and chemotherapy remain widely used and insured, newer treatments—such as immunotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, robotic surgeries, and stem cell transplants—are becoming increasingly common.