The increasing number of Coronavirus cases has been a matter of concern for all. In such a situation, the need of the hour is a health insurance policy that can cover the expenses of the Coronavirus. Here is a brief of all the types of Health insurance policy that you can buy to cover the costs incurred for treating the virus.
The recent COVID-19 Pandemic has posed a grave threat to all. The number of people getting infected is increasing by the day. The deadly disease is taking a toll over the lives both in terms of health and finances. With no preventive vaccine or cure for the disease, it is imperative to follow the social distancing norms and proper hygiene to keep away from the disease. Also having a health insurance plan during these times is a compulsion if you want to prevent the expenses from burning a hole on your pocket.
IRDA has passed regulations to make health insurance plans more standardised and customer-friendly. All types of health insurance plans cover for the coronavirus treatment expenses. Besides, Coronavirus specific health insurance is designed to help people manage the costs incurred for the treatment of Coronavirus.
What Is Coronavirus Specific Health Insurance, And What Does It Cover?
Coronavirus health insurance covers all the expenses incurred during the treatment of coronavirus disease. It includes all the in-patient and out-patient charges and the hospitalisation charges incurred during the treatment of the disease. As this policy is specifically for Coronavirus, this policy can be claimed only if the person has incurred any cost during the treatment of this specific virus.
Coronavirus is not a pre-existing illness, but a person should not be infected with the virus during the purchase of the Health insurance policy.
Other Health Insurance Policies That Cover Coronavirus Treatment
The basic health insurance plans cover all the expenses incurred for treatment of Coronavirus along with other diseases as specified under the policy documents.
Thera are two types of health insurance policies that cover the treatment cost for Coronavirus, Indemnity plans and Defined- benefit plans
The indemnity plans cover for the hospitalisation expenses incurred during the treatment up to the sum assured. So, if you have a sum assured of 5 lakhs, and if the cost incurred is Rs. 6 lakhs, the insurance company will pay the bills till five lakhs while the remaining 1 lakh must be paid from your pocket.
The few indemnity plans that you can buy now to cover the COVID-19 expenses are
Medical insurance
This type of insurance includes all the in-patient charges like nursing charges, doctors fee, oxygen costs, anaesthesia costs, etc. All the expenses during hospitalisation are also covered in this policy.
Individual insurance
if you wish to take insurance for yourself or a single person in your family, you can get an individual insurance plan which compensates for hospitalisation charges. In case your spouse is also covered in the individual plan, each of you can claim the assured sum individually.
Family floater plan
In the family floater plan, your entire family is covered under a single plan where the sum assured is equally covered within the family members included in the plan. The premium paid towards a family floater plan is lesser as compared to Mediclaim policy and individual health insurance plans.
Group Mediclaim
Nowadays, even employers cover their employees with health insurance plans. These group Mediclaim policies also cover the treatment for Coronavirus, so in case if you are switching a company that offers health insurance benefits, you are entitled to claim the policy for Coronavirus treatment.
Under a defined benefit plan, you can go opt for the daily cash policy where you can receive daily cash along with the hospitalisation expenses up to a specific limit.