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What is Corona Kavach Policy? How insurers can sell Corona Kavach policy as Group insurance?

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Published on Sept 15, 2020. EST READ TIME: 5 MIN   

Covid-19 has caused havoc in our lives. Not only are we at high risk of being infected given the communicable nature of the disease, but also at risk of losing our hard-earned savings to meet the costly treatment expenses. We can mitigate these risks by two methods – social distancing and insuring yourself and your loved ones under the Corona Kavach Policy. Given the rising cases of the novel coronavirus, the Corona Kavach was introduced by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)to ensure prompt and quality healthcare to the infected. According to IRDAI, all standalone or generalinsurancecompanies in India should offer Corona Kavach to its customers. Here is some information about the policy.

What is the Corona Kavach Policy?

Launched on July 10, 2020, Corona Kavach is a special individual or family policy, which is offered by both general as well as health insurance providers. Itnot only covers pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation expenses, but also other medical expenses related to Covid-19 treatment. This plan helps the infected to avail of quality medical treatment and saves him or her from hospital bills.

The term of the Corona Kavach Policy is from three-and-a-half months to nine-and-a-half months. You can only insure a maximum amount of INR 5 lakhs in this policy.

Corona Kavach Health Insurance Policy: Inclusions

• Hospitalisation expenses: The policy covers all hospitalisation expenses, including oxygen cylinders, ventilators, PPE kits, bed charges, blood tests, and consultation fees.

• Home care expenses: If an infected person takes treatment at home, the Corona Kavach Plan will take care of the expenses for up to 14 days.

• Pre-hospitalisation cover: This includes all expenses incurred before hospitalisation of the infected person, such as check-up and doctor consultation fees, diagnosis charges, and more.

• Post-hospitalisation cover: The Corona Kavach Health Insurance Plan covers post-hospitalisation medical expenses too for the number of days mentioned in the policy document.

• Road ambulance cover: If you take an ambulance from home to hospital and vice versa, your insurance company will cover the road ambulance charges.

• AYUSH treatment: Many insurance companies offering Corona Kavach also cover AYUSH treatment for the novel coronavirus.

Corona Kavach Health Insurance Policy: Exclusions

• Diagnostic expenses: Hospitalisation for diagnostics and treatment not related to the novel coronavirus pandemic will not be covered.

• Non-prescription medicines: The policy will not cover the expenses incurred for buying medicines without a doctor’s prescription.

• Rehabilitation expenses: The amount spent on custodial care at home or nursing facility is not covered.

• Day-care treatments: Your insurer will not cover expenses related to OPD or outpatient department or day-care procedures.

• Unproven treatments: Any treatment without proper medical documentation will not be covered. However, it will covergovernment-authorised Covid-19treatments.

• Testing at unauthorised centres: Corona Kavach Health Insurance Policy will not cover testing done at diagnostic centres that are not authorised by the Government of India.

Apart from these, the policy will not cover vaccination charges and diagnosis expenses outside India.

How insurers can sell Corona Kavach Policy as group insurance?

As stated by IRDAI in July 2020, health insurance companies can offer Corona Kavach Plan as a group product. However, for this the insurer must comply with the norms stated below:

• Insurers should add the word ‘group’ to use the standard product name of the group policy. Also, the terms and conditions should be the same as those applicable to the standard individual policy. Only the premium rate and the specification on operation of group policy can be different.

• Each insurance company can price the product based on its health portfolio, risk assessment, and claim experience. They should comply with the norms and guidelines stated in the IRDAI Regulations, 2016.

• The product or the Group Corona Kavach Policy should be filed on use and file basis. This should be donefollowing the norms stated in Chapter IV of “Guidelines on Product Filing in Health InsuranceBusiness” and as per the latest modifications.

• The Group Corona Kavach Health Insurance Policy should fulfil all the other applicable norms as stated in the “Guidelines on Product Filing in Health Insurance Business”.

• According to IRDAI, the standard group policy is ideal for private and public establishments that are looking to cover Covid-19-related medical expenses of their employees. It is also useful for groups of frontline workers, such as doctors and nurses.

• The group policy can also provide protection to numerous employees engaged in different sectors, such as services, manufacturing, SMEs, MSMEs, and logistics. It is useful for migrant workers as well.

Conclusion:

Armed with a Corona Kavach Policy, you can easily find and avail of the best treatment for Covid-19near your area of residence. It promises cashless hospitalisation and quality medical care at the time of need.All standalone and generalinsurancecompanies in India offer this plan to ensure prompt treatment and financial security during the novel coronavirus crisis. Hence, make sure you have a health plan that covers you and your loved ones against Covid-19 treatment and other medical emergencies.

This  blog is written by Dr. Kavita Ganesh 
Asst. Vice President, Health & Accident Product Underwriting

About The Expert :   Dr. Kavita Ganesh holds over 15 years of work experience in health insurance industry. She highly recommends buying health insurance for securing finances in case of a medical emergency. Looking at the current pandemic situation, she enforces the idea of having a higher sum insured for covering the entire family.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus

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