IRDA Introduces Corona Specific Health Insurance Plans

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Do you know which Corona Specific Health Insurance Plan you should opt for yourself and your family?

Here’s everything you need to know…

Coronavirus pandemic has become a serious issue. While the infection was restricted to China only, now it has the whole world in its grip. Major countries of the world are experiencing an increasing number of cases and India is not far behind. In fact, the rise in cases is so severe in India that the country is poised to be in the top three worst-affected nations of the world.

COVID infection results in hospitalisation or home quarantine and individuals incur considerable costs in treatments. While a normal health insurance policy covers the cost of hospitalisation, the cost of consumables is excluded. COVID treatments result in a considerable cost of consumables for PPE kits, gloves, masks, etc. Since these costs are not covered under normal health plans, individuals suffer a considerable out-of-pocket expense. To counter this dilemma, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) proposed standard, short-term health insurance plans for covering the medical costs of COVID. As per the regulator’s directives, two policies have been launched from 10th July 2020 for covering COVID related expenses. These policies are called Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak and they specifically cover the costs incurred if one suffers from Coronavirus.

Let’s have a detailed look into these plans to understand what exactly they offer –

Corona Kavach Health Insurance Policy

Corona Kavach health insurance policy is an indemnity oriented health insurance plan. The plan covers the actual medical costs which are incurred if you test positive for Coronavirus and are hospitalised.

The plan covers the medical costs incurred on the following –

1. Room rent in case of hospitalisation
2. Boarding and nursing expenses
3. Pre hospitalisation expenses incurred up to 15 days prior to being hospitalised
4. Post hospitalisation expenses incurred for up to 30 days after being discharged from the hospital
5. Ambulance costs for up to Rs 2000
6. Home treatment expenses wherein you take treatments at home which would otherwise have required hospitalisation. The expenses which are covered under this category include the cost of diagnostics, medicines, nursing expenses, oximeter, oxygen cylinder, consultation expenses and the nebulizer. These costs are covered for up to 14 days
7. Cost of ICU and ICCU
8. Fees paid to doctors, medical practitioners, surgeons and anaesthetists
9. Consumables cost incurred on medicines, oxygen, gloves, face masks, PPE kits, diagnostics, blood, etc.
10. AYUSH or Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy treatments are taken for COVID

These are the inbuilt coverage benefits which are offered with the plan. Besides these benefits, there is also an optional extension which can be taken at an additional premium. This optional coverage is the hospital cash benefit allowance coverage. If opted, this cover would pay 0.5% of the sum insured every day for each day of hospitalisation. The maximum payment is done for 15 days.

The plan also covers claims for pre-existing illnesses and co-morbidities making the policy suitable for all. There are no deductibles under the policy making it comprehensive in its scope of coverage.

Parameters of Corona Kavach Health Insurance Plan

The plan parameters are as follows –

Policy exclusions of Corona Rakshak Health Insurance Plan

Though the Corona Kavach plan covers all possible costs of COVID treatments, there are some instances in which the coverage is not applicable. These constitute the exclusions of the plan which include the following –

1. Cost of investigation or evaluation which is not related to COVID
2. Costs incurred on bed rest or respite
3. Cost of dietary supplements without prescription
4. Medical costs incurred on any other illness or injury except COVID
5. COVID related claims where the infection was detected before buying the policy
6. Treatments outside India
7. Daycare treatments
8. OPD expenses
9. COVID testing is done at a centre which is not authorized or recognized by the Government
10. If the insured travel to any other country with travel restrictions, the coverage would stop

Corona Rakshak Health Insurance Policy

Corona Rakshak is another short term health insurance plan launched with Corona Kavach.

Corona Rakshak Health Insurance Policy is a fixed benefit health insurance policy which pays the sum insured in a lump sum if you test positive for Coronavirus and are hospitalised for treatments for 72 hours or more.

So, if you are tested positive for the virus and you are hospitalised for a minimum of 72 hours, the Corona Rakshak policy would pay the sum insured in a lump sum. You can use the sum insured for meeting any type of financial obligation that you might have.

Parameters of Corona Rakshak Health Insurance Plan

The plan parameters are as follows –

Policy exclusions of Corona Rakshak Health Insurance Plan

There are some instances when a claim under the Corona Rakshak policy would not be admissible. These instances are the policy exclusions and they include the following –

1. Illnesses other than COVID
2. COVID related claims where the insured was tested positive before buying the policy
3. Treatments that took outside the boundaries of India
4. COVID testing is done at a centre which is not authorized by the Government
5. If the insured travel to any other country with travel restrictions, the coverage would not be applicable

Comparison of Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak

Both Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak are two distinct health insurance policies which are quite different from one another. These plans have some similarities too.

Let’s understand these similarities and check the differences between these policies –

Similarities between Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak

1. Both policies pay a claim only for Coronavirus related cases if the insured tests positive for the virus
2. Both have a waiting period of 15 days before coverage starts
3. Under both the plans, the coverage tenure is the same
4. A single premium is payable to buy both the plans
5. Pre-existing conditions and co-morbidities are covered under both policies
6. There are no deductibles under these plans

Differences between Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak

To understand the differences between these two policies, have a look at the following table:

Both Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak plans are health plans designed to fight the financial implication of Coronavirus. While one plan covers your hospitalisation costs, the other gives you a lump sum benefit to deal with any type of financial need that you might have. The premiums of both these policies are low and affordable allowing you to invest in these plans without second thoughts.

Whether you already have an existing health insurance policy or not, these plans are ideal to cover possible medical expenses which might incur if you contract the virus.

So, it is better to err on the side of caution. Buy these plans and build a protection portfolio. You might not be able to prevent the infection from happening but you can definitely prevent the virus from wreaking havoc on your finances by having comprehensive health insurance coverage. These plans promise such coverage and should not be avoided.

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