Covid-19 has been creating phenomenal impacts on our lives like never before and the recent mutations have forced the European and Gulf countries to close their borders. Taking a quick look at what we have experienced over the last couple of months will help us understand how much hospital expenses an infected person incurs especially when one’s health becomes critical. The cost incurred by us not just includes the hospital expenses, but also the income lost while we’re away from work (loss of pay). When it comes to the duration of leave, what differentiates this leave from other types of leaves are the mandatory quarantine norms one has to adhere to. The tendency for reduction in one’s income occurring as a result of his request for a less strenuous role or reduced number of working hours (once he or she is back at work) makes things even more difficult.
A typical health insurance plan comes at a reasonable premium functioning on an indemnity basis compensating the insured only in case of hospitalization. On the other hand, insurance for a critical illness like covid enables us to bring life to normalcy by paying us a lump sum amount irrespective of the size of the hospital bill. A coronavirus health insurance policy covers all the expenses incurred by a policyholder irrespective of the kind of ailment detected in the person.
What adds to the woes is the reluctance on part of the people to take covid insurance, despite being aware of the rate at which the spread is taking place. There are a variety of insurance plans that can relieve you from financial burden in case of turning positive and the policies that can be availed.
Some of the important features of these plans/ policies are:
- Affordability
- Coverage for covid treatment
- Facilitation of cashless hospitalization
- Offer In-patient treatment
- Reimbursement of hefty hospital bills
- Quick and easy claim settlement facility, etc
Let us now take a look at some of the popular COVID health insurance policies that can be availed:
i. Corona Kavach Policy: It is a standard coronavirus health insurance policy covering hospitalization expenses, home care treatment cost, ambulance charges, cost of PPE kits, medicines, gloves, masks, doctor fees, ICU charges incurred during the treatment. It covers expenses falling anywhere between Rs.50,000 to 5 lakhs.
ii. Corona Rakshak Policy: This insurance policy covers hospitalization expenses of 72 hours or more as per the requirement of the treatment norms in India. The policy covers the expense incurred in the purchase of PPE kits. Even after the spreading of the coronavirus like a wildfire across the world, making more and more people a victim of COVID 19 disease, people are not showing much in taking Covid insurance.
iii. Coronavirus Group Health Insurance: Those being covered under the group health insurance policy need to get confirmation from the insurer if it covers expenses of coronavirus treatment. In case, your policy is Corona Rakshak or Corona Kavach you can stay assured of being covered for COVID-19 hospitalization.
The main aim of an insurance company is to provide a protective cover to the insured. With COVID cases on the rise daily, we need to have a clear understanding of the types of health insurance policies available in the market. This will help us choose a policy that provides a perfect solution for all our requirements.
Idea & Concept: Noufal Latheef, Chartered Wealth Manager/ Research Analyst / Faculty
Content Development: Aswathi Satish, Niyog Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd.