Does My Health Insurance Plan Cover Me For Coronavirus?

Health insurance policy is a must-have for all the people in today's world due to the increase in severity of the global pandemic. The coronavirus disease has made it dreadful and life-threatening for a person to seek a usual treatment at the hospitals. Due to the increase in patients, there is a lack of availability of the resources which are ensured to customers in their contract of a health insurance plan. Having a health insurance plan not only provides financial backup to the individuals but also gives them a sense of peace. It can be bought for individuals, family, senior citizens, to-be mothers, etc. and can be customized accordingly to cater to your needs at an affordable price.

To deal with the global pandemic of COVID-19, the insurance regulatory body has mandated it for all the insurance providers to include COVID-19 cover in their standard health insurance policies. Therefore, all the health insurance plans from different insurers have a COVID-19 plan which can be availed only when diagnosed with coronavirus disease. These covers come with a short waiting period of around 15 days and are packed with extra benefits like hospitalization costs, costs of PPE kits, masks, nebulizers, and much more.

Does Your Health Insurance Plan Have A Cover For Coronavirus?

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made it compulsory for all the health insurance providers to include a COVID-19 health insurance plan in all the standard health insurance plans irrespective of the type of policy chosen by the policyholder. You can avail the benefits of your COVID-19 plan after around 30 days from the date of purchase of your policy which is also known as the waiting period of the cover. This cover includes pre and post hospitalization charges and also includes home treatments in case prescribed by the doctor.

COVID-19 Health Insurance Cover

This health insurance cover compensates for the medical expenses of the individual at the time of treatment of coronavirus disease. People diagnosed with COVID-19 need immediate medical attention and due to the rise in inflation in the health sector, the cost of treatments can drain the savings of the policyholders. Since, COVID-19 is a recent disease, it does not count under the pre-existing diseases. You must carefully go through the policy-related documents to make sure that the COVID-19 cover has been included in your base health insurance policy.

Types of Coronavirus Health Insurance Policy

COVID-19 health insurance covers are available with almost all the standard health insurance plans, but IRDAI has launched two COVID-19 specific health insurance covers to meet the expenses of the policyholders at the time of treatment of coronavirus. Let us look at the basic COVID-19 specific health insurance covers available in the insurance market:

1. Corona Kavach Policy

This is an indemnity based health insurance plan which comes with a single premium. This health insurance cover can be bought for both individuals and families including self, spouse, children, and dependent parents. The policy tenure for this cover varies as 3.5 months, 6.5 months, and 9.5 months. It covers the AYUSH treatments, cost of hospitalization, ambulance charges, and much more. You can also avail the daily cash benefit under this policy by paying an extra premium amount to the insurer.

2. Corona Rakshak Policy

This cover is a benefit based health insurance policy under which the policyholders gets a lump sum of 100% of the sum assured when diagnosed with coronavirus. It comes with a similar policy tenure as that of Corona Kavach Policy and has a sum assured of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2.5 Lakhs. Anyone between the age of 18 to 65 years can avail the benefits of this policy. The patient must be admitted in a government recognized COVID-19 center to claim the benefits of this policy cover.

Conclusion

You can avail the COVID-19 cover of your health insurance policy as soon as you are diagnosed with coronavirus disease. You must carefully go through your inclusions and exclusions to make sure that your requirements have been met at an affordable price.

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Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.