Sahara Critical Illness Rider

The Sahara Critical Illness Rider is an add-on feature that can be attached to your Sahara life insurance policy to increase the coverage provided to you. By adding this rider, the policyholder will receive a benefit in case he/she is diagnosed with any of the 12 critical illnesses covered by the rider. The rider cannot be purchased as a stand-alone entity and will have to be in addition to a base policy.

The conditions covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider include cancer, coronary artery bypass surgery, arota surgery, first heart attack, heart valve replacement, loss of limbs, kidney failure, major organ transplant, stroke, paralysis, coma, and major burns.

Eligibility – Who is the Sahara Critical Illness Rider for?

The Sahara Critical Illness Rider can be purchased by anyone who already has a life insurance policy from Sahara. There are a few eligibility criteria that must be met in order to purchase the rider. They are as follow:

Parameters	Details
Minimum Entry Age	18 years
Maximum Entry Age	55 years
Maximum Maturity Age	65 years
Policy Term	Minimum 10 years

Sum Assured and Other Details – What you get and how much it costs?

When attaching the Sahara Critical Illness Rider, customers will have to select a sum assured. Following is a table showing the minimum and maximum sum assured for the Sahara Critical Illness Rider:

Parameters	Details
Minimum Sum Assured	Rs.1 lakh
Maximum Sum Assured	Rs.6 lakh or the sum assured of the base plan, whichever is lower

Plan Coverage – What the Sahara Critical Illness Rider covers?

Cancer (Life-threatening)	The presence of one or more malignant tumours will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider. Cancer is defined as a malignant tumour that is characterised by the uncontrolled growth and spread of malignant cells with invasion and destruction of normal tissues. Customers who are diagnosed with the condition must furnish documents to show histological evidence of malignancy and the same documents must be confirmed by a pathologist.
Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery	The Sahara Critical Illness Rider covers policyholders who undergo an open heart surgery to treat one or more coronary arteries that are blocked or narrowed, by coronary artery bypass graft. A coronary angiography must support the diagnosis and a specialist medical practitioner must confirm the realization of surgery for the customer to avail the benefit.
First Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction)	The first time myocardial infarction occurs, which basically means the death of a portion of the heart due to lack of sufficient blood supply to the relevant area, it will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider. The policyholder can be diagnosed if he/she has a history of typical clinical symptoms consistent with the diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction, new characteristic electrocardiogram changes, or elevation of infarction specific enzymes, Troponins or other specific biochemical markers.
Arota Surgery	Policyholders who undergo surgery through a laparotomy or thoracotomy to correct or repair an aortic aneurysm, a coarctation or an obstruction of the aorta will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider.
Heart Valve Replacement	Policyholders who undergo an open chest surgery to correct or replace cardiac valve due to abnormalities or defects of the heart valve will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider.
Loss of Limbs	Permanent and complete loss of function of more than one limb, or the total severance of more than one limb as a result of a disease or accident will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider.
Kidney Failure	The final stage of renal failure resulting in the chronic irreversible failure of both kidneys will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider. Regular renal dialysis will have to be initiated or renal transplant will have to be carried out when the policyholder is diagnosed, and medical costs will be covered by the rider.
Major Organ Transplant	Organ transplant from one human to another, i.e. the donor to the life assured, will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider. The organs that are permissible under the rider include kidney, lung, liver, heart and bone marrow transplantation.
Stroke	Stroke is defined as any cerebrovascular incident that produces permanent neurological sequelae, including embolization and haemorrhage from an extracranial source, thrombosis in an intracranial vessel, or infarction of brain tissue. A specialist medical practitioner will have to confirm the diagnosis and evidence will have to be provided to the company by way of typical findings in MRI or CT Scan of the brain as well as typical clinical symptoms. Customers will have to produce evidence of permanent neurological deficit lasting for a minimum of three months.
Paralysis	The total and permanent loss of function of more than one limb resulting from a disease or injury of the spinal cord will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider.
Coma	A coma which persists for a minimum of 96 hours where there is no response to external stimuli and the individual needs life support measures to sustain life, or a brain damage resulting in permanent neurological deficit will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider.
Major Burns	Tissue injury resulting from chemical, thermal or electrical agents causing full thickness or third degree burns to a minimum of 20% of the body surface area will be covered by the Sahara Critical Illness Rider.

Exclusions – What the Sahara Critical Illness Rider does not include?

Cancer:

Following are the exclusions for cancer:

• Tumours showing the malignant changes of carcinoma in situ and tumours that are histologically described as premalignant or non-invasive, including but not limited to cervical dysplasia, carcinoma in situ of breasts.
• All kinds of skin cancer, such as basal cell carcinomas, melanomas, hyperkeratosis and squamous cell carcinomas of under 1.5mm maximum thickness as ascertained by histological tests using Breslow method.
• All tumours in the presence of HIV infection.
• Non-life-threatening cancers, like prostate cancers that are histologically referred to as TNM classification T1.
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia lower than RAI Stage 3.
• Papillary micro-carcinoma of the bladder or thyroid.

Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery:

Following are the exclusions for Coronary artery bypass surgery:

• Any laser or keyhole surgery.
• Angioplasty and/or any other intra-arterial procedures.

First Heart Attack:

Following are the exclusions for first heart attack:

• Non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction with elevation of Troponin I or T.
• Any type of angina pectoris.
• History of typical chest pain.
• Other acute Coronary Syndromes.

Arota Surgery:

Following are the exclusions for arota surgery:

• Surgery performed using catheter techniques.

Heart Valve Replacement:

Following are the exclusions for heart valve replacement:

• Repair through valvotomy, keyhole surgery, catheter or similar techniques.

Stroke:

Following are the exclusions for stroke:

• Traumatic injury of the brain.
• Transient ischemic attacks.
• Ischemic disorders of the vestibular system.
• Vascular disease affecting only the optic nerve or eye or vestibular functions.

Coma:

Following are the exclusions for coma:

• Coma resulting from the direct abuse of drugs or alcohol.

General Exclusions – What the Sahara Critical Illness Rider does not include?

The life assured will not be eligible for any benefits in case the critical illness covered is a result of the following causes:

• Attempted suicide or intentional self-inflicted injury.
• Diseases in the presence of an HIV infection.
• Failure to seek or follow medical advice.
• Invasion, war, hostilities, act of foreign enemy, civil war, armed or unarmed truce, revolution, mutiny, insurrection, rebellion, usurped or military power, civil commotion or riots, strikes, etc.
• Nuclear contamination, the explosive, hazardous or radioactive nature of nuclear fuel materials or property contaminated by nuclear fuel materials or accidents arising from such nature.
• Participation in an unlawful or criminal act.
• Participation in any flying activity apart from bona fide fare-paying passenger of a recognised airline flying on regular routes on a scheduled timetable.
• Participation in professional sports or hazardous pursuits such as martial arts, mountaineering, bungee jumping, hunting, parachuting, riding or driving of any type of race, etc.
• Pre-existing diseases for which the life assured had symptoms or signs and/or was diagnosed within 48 months before the first policy issued by Aegon Life.
• Solvent or alcohol abuse or taking of narcotics, drugs or psychotropic substances apart from those prescribed by a registered medical practitioner.
• Taking part in any military, naval or air force operation during a time of peace.

Why Choose the Sahara Critical Illness Rider?

The Sahara Critical Illness Rider is a great option to attach to your life insurance policy from Sahara as it not only increases the value of the policy but also ensures that customers are financially secure in times of medical emergencies. Moreover, Sahara India Life Insurance Company Limited has established itself as one of India’s prominent insurance providers. It works with a large number of insurance agents who have the experience as well as expertise to ensure that customers can find the policies that best suit their needs. A round-the-clock customer service team will ensure that you have no concerns regarding your policy or rider.