Cancer is a dreadful health-related ailment that can happen to anyone. No one wants to be afflicted by cancer as it is the most agonising time physically and mentally for the individual going through it and also for his family members.

Thus, considering the rising incidences of cancer and exorbitant treatment cost , cancer insurance has become the need of the hour. It’s a smart decision to include cancer plan in your portfolio. However, you ought to know about the exclusions of this insurance. There are certain cancer-like conditions which are not covered by a cancer plan. Given below are these six conditions:

Carcinoma-in-situ

Different names for carcinoma in situ are- non-invasive cancer and pre-invasive cancer. “In situ" means "in its original place”.Carcinoma-in-situ refers to a group of abnormal cells that stay in the place where they are initially formed. Such a condition is not covered by the cancer plan.

Skin Cancer

Uncontrolled development of abnormal skin cells prompts skin cancer. It happens when the body does not repair harm to the DNA inside skin cells, enabling the cells to grow uncontrollably. Most instances of skin malignancy are caused by overexposure to UV light.

Minor Lever Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer which is found in males develops in the gland cells of the prostate due to their uncontrollable growth. Minor level prostate cancer, with a Gleason score (grading system used to determine the aggressiveness of prostate cancer) less than 6 is not covered by Cancer insurance.

Similarly, microcarcinoma of the bladder is not covered by cancer insurance. However, Generali Central offers coverage in case the Gleason score for prostate cancer is more than 6,or if it has progressed to at least T2N0M0 clinical TNM classification.

For both these plans, you get the flexibility to pick the period of premium payment and period of protection.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a malignancy affecting the development of B-lymphocytes. B lymphocytes (specialised white blood cells) produce antibodies to protect our bodies against infection and disease. In people with CLL, lymphocytes undergo a cancerous change and become leukemic.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia less than RAI stage 3 (carrying low to intermediate risk) is not covered by cancer insurance.

Papillary Micro Carcinoma of Thyroid

Thyroid carcinoma is the most common cancer of the endocrine system. Its sub-type- thyroid papillary microcarcinoma, includes tumours with less than 1 cm diameter.

As far as cancer coverage is concerned, if the tumour size of thyroid papillary microcarcinoma is less than 1 cm in diameter, it isn’t covered by the cancer plan.

Any Tumor in the Presence of HIV Infection

All types of cancers developed in the presence of HIV infection are excluded from the cancer cover.

Why Exclude These Conditions?

Cancer insurance plans are usually designed to offer maximum coverage for cancer. However, in some cases, either the disease is not identifiable or has too many variations to establish the disease concretely.

Considering that the insurance is a community product, it avoids any action that is not beneficial or harmful to the community. Insurance works on a principle that people in a community, prone to a certain risk of loss, pool money to support those who may suffer. But fraudulent or erroneous claims can lead to the following two situations:

Therefore, in the interest of the larger community of contributors, it is essential for insurers to ensure that wrong claims are not processed or paid from the pool of funds. All the conditions excluded from cancer insurance, therefore, are only those conditions which are either too vexed or not clearly related to cancer.

Should You Buy Cancer Insurance?

Overall exclusions are quite few in cancer insurance and even constitute less than 1% of the total affected population. Thus, chances of an insured falling in the excluded category are low.

But, the insurance will still cover the remaining spectrum of the illness. And given the financials involved in the treatment, insurance will make availing best possible treatment and regaining the normal life a lot easier.

Thus, a cancer plan is an important component of your overall health insurance plan.

The Bottom Line

Knowing these exclusions will help you avoid unwanted surprises at the time of claim. Most importantly, the idea behind buying cancer insurance is ‘first surviving cancer, and then surviving the financial impact’. So, make sure to buy the right cancer insurance plan before the calamity strikes.