Offer Health Policy For COVID-19 By July 10: Regulator To Health Insurers

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked insurance companies to come up with health insurance policies that cover COVID-19-related medical expenses by July 10. The step by the insurance regulator comes at a time when COVID-19 cases in the country are surging at a very fast pace. IRDAI has asked the insurance firms to offer two health insurance policies - Corona Kavach Policy and Corona Rakshak Policy. Both policies will cover the expenses for hospitalisation, home care treatment and Aayush treatment, as well as charges towards pre- and post-hospitalisation.

"These standard policies specific to COVID-19 are a welcome move considering the current situation where people are worried about the COVID-19 treatment costs... These policies will cater to people who currently don't have a holistic health insurance policy and are looking to cover themselves against COVID-19," Tapan Singhel, managing director and CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, told NDTV.

"The policy coverages, terms & conditions are standard across insurers; the USP would be wide network of hospitals for cashless facility. These COVID-19 specific policies will certainly be a good start and an attractive proposition for people to opt for health insurance," he said.

India recorded more than 19,000 new coronavirus patients for a second consecutive day as the total cases crossed 5.48 lakh-mark, according to Union Health Ministry data till Monday morning.

Nearly 3.2 lakh COVID-19 patients in the country have recovered since the beginning of the pandemic, government data shows, and 16,475 patients have died. India's biggest single-day jump in cases - 19,906 fresh infections - was registered on Sunday.

The country - the fourth worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic - has been reporting more than 15,000 new patients every day since Wednesday.

On Monday morning, the government said 19,459 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours. Nearly 83 lakh samples have been tested since the beginning of the pandemic in India, according to the government. On Sunday, around 1.7 lakh fresh samples were collected.