Now, you can buy an insurance policy specifically to cover the cost of COVID-19 treatment. All general insurance companies have come out with Corona Kavach and Corona Raksha policies as per the directions of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), a statutory body under the government of India.
The protection coverage and general terms of the policies of all the companies are the same except for some slight differences in the premium amount and some procedures.
These are short-term policies exclusively for COVID-19 treatment.
Corona Kavach is an indemnity policy. The policy will reimburse the cost (subject to the maximum sum insured) incurred in the treatment of COVID-19.
Corona Raksha is a benefit policy. A one-time payment of the insured amount will be made to the policyholders if they are diagnosed as being COVID-19 positive.
The policies are available for individuals and as family floaters and for different terms — three months (105 days); six months (195 days); and nine months (285 days).
The minimum sum insured is Rs 50,000; the maximum is Rs 5 lakh in Corona Kavach and Rs 2.5 lakh in Corona Raksha. The sum insured is available in multiples of Rs 50,000.
The policies can be bought by those aged between 18 and 65 years. The premium is to be paid only once (single premium).
Both Corona Kavach and Corona Rakha have a waiting period of 15 days — the insurance cover will not be available if a person tests COVID positive within 15 days of taking the policies.
Only the results of government-approved test centres will be considered for benefit under the policies. Also, the cover is applicable for only inpatient treatments, and conditions, such as not visiting countries with travel bans due to COVID, apply.
Corona Kavach
The policy will cover both hospitalisation and home care expenses. Besides allopathy, ayurvedic, unani and homoeopathy treatment as per Ayush will also be covered.
For every day in a hospital for treatment, the policies offer a daily cash facility of 0.5% of sum insured (for a maximum of 15 days) for a small additional premium.
Premium: Different companies have different premiums based on the sum insured, term and age group. While some companies have different premiums for different age groups like 20, 21-35, 36-50, 51-65, 65, others consider those in the 0-39 age group as a single category.)
