Because of the Covid-19 crisis, the IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India) has decided to instruct all general and health insurers to provide a typical individual COVID-19 health insurance product, which will be a COVID-19 specific product addressing basic health insurance needs of the general related to Covid-19.
IRDAI’s COVID cover is also a draft product for now, and also the regulator has asked both the health and general insurance companies to confirm that this product is compulsorily offered on or before June 15. While comparing with the prevailing insurance policies within the market covering the Covid-19 treatment, the fresh IRDAI guidelines and caps are limited to COVID specific products which can be issued over the following 10 days.
Features of the IRDAI’s COVID cover
• This cover comes with the least sum insured of Rs 50,000, and a maximum of Rs 5 lakh. The ICU charges are capped at Rs 10,000 per day, quarantine charges at Rs 3,000 per day and room charges have been capped at Rs 5,000 per day.
• The tenure of the policy is about one year. It will be available on a family floater basis for people with a minimum entry age of 18 years and a maximum of 65 years. The policy is subject to lifelong renewability.
• The hospitalization cost covers room, nursing, and boarding expenses which are up to 2 percent of the sum insured, capped at Rs 5,000 per day.
• According to the guidelines, the policy will cover ICU expenses up to five percent of the sum insured, which is capped at Rs 10,000 per day. Expenses incurred on road ambulance is about at Rs 2,000 per hospitalization and the policy also covers all daycare treatment.
• The draft guidelines said that the Covid-19 product must be uniform across the market, and will have the fundamental mandatory covers included.
• The policy is also supposed to cover expenses incurred on hospitalization under AYUSH medicine without any sub-limits under the policy.
• Pre-hospitalization medical expenses incurred will be admissible for a period of 30 days before the date of hospitalization. It will also cover the prices of diagnostics towards COVID–19.
• If an individual is quarantined due to diagnosis or suspected infection, under the add-on cover, the insurer will pay 1 percent of the sum insured per day, up to Rs 3,000 per day. The insurer can pay 0.5 percent of the sum insured per day as daily hospital cash, for every 24 hours of hospitalization on a positive diagnosis of Covid-19.
• The bottom covers of standard Covid-19 products will be offered on an indemnity basis. The add-ons, however, are going to be made available on the thought of benefits.
• For the quality, COVID–19 product premiums are often made on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly basis, as per the regulator.
