Worried About The Pandemic? Buy Comprehensive Health Insurance Policy

The ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus has made a large population to realise the importance of having some financial backup for medical emergencies. Due to lack of proper or quality treatment, a lot of people lost their loved ones to the coronavirus diseases. To help the people tackle this situation, the health insurance providers have rolled out COVID-19 health insurance covers, which can be bought separately or along with the regular health insurance plans. 

Corona Kavach Policy and Corona Rakshak policy are two commonly bought additional covers for COVID-19. It comes with a short waiting period of 15 days, and since coronavirus spread recently, it is not considered a pre-existing disease. However, due to the growing complexities of the coronavirus pandemic, the health insurers are offering COVID-19 covers with all the regular health insurance policies. Therefore, anyone who has a health insurance policy can avail the benefits of COVID-19 specific health insurance plan after testing positive with coronavirus. 

About Comprehensive Health Insurance Policy

A comprehensive health insurance plan is a health insurance policy which offers compensation for pre and post hospitalization along with the coverage related to during the hospitalization period. It is more than just paying  for the medical expenses. Therefore, with its wide coverage it also includes COVID-19 specific coverage for all the customers. Under the COVID-19 cover the customers are granted financial aid after testing positive for coronavirus disease, and it comes with a short waiting period of 15 days. However, you can also buy a separate COVID-19 specific plan to cover the expenses of treatment due to coronavirus disease. 

IRDAI has made it compulsory for all the health insurance providers to include COVID-19 covers in the regular health insurance policy. Let us look at the features of the COVID-19 cover in the comprehensive health insurance covers:

• The waiting period for this cover is 15 days after which the customers can avail the benefits of this policy. 
• Ambulance charges are covered in case of medical emergencies related to coronavirus disease.
• Tax deduction benefits are provided to the taxpayers who are also the policyholders of the cover under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. 
• PPE kits, gloves, masks, vaccination charges are also covered under this plan. 
• In-patient costs, domiciliary expenses are provided. 
• Cashless claim benefits can be availed at the network hospitals. 

Also read - Individual vs Family Health Insurance Plans

Inclusions of The COVID-19 Cover Under Comprehensive Health Insurance Policy

Let us look at the basic inclusions of the COVID-19 policy under the comprehensive health insurance cover for helping the customers in dealing with the pandemic: 

• Critical illness hospitalization
• Inpatient hospitalization 
• Pre and post hospitalization 
• Daycare procedures 
• Accidental hospitalization
• ICU room rents
• Organ donor expenses
• Home hospitalization 
• Ambulance charges
• Alternate treatment coverage 
• Recovery benefit 
• Maternity cover, can be added as an additional plan

Exclusions For COVID-19 Plan Under Comprehensive Health Insurance Policy 

Following is the list of the exclusions under the COVID-19 cover of a comprehensive health insurance policy: 

• Coverage is provided for the diagnosis of the treatment and cannot be granted for expenses incurred during home quarantine of the policyholder. 
• No claim is approved by the insurer, if the treatment is not received from a government recognized COVID-19 center. 
• Medical expenses due to pre-existing diseases will not be covered by the insurer under this cover. 
• Pre and post-natal expenses are also not covered until it leads to the hospitalization of the policyholder. 
• Hospitalization without a doctor's recommendation will not be looked after under this plan. 

Conclusion 

There are separate COVID-19 specific health insurance plans like Corona Kavach policy and Corona Rakshak policy that can be bought for extra coverage during the treatment of coronavirus disease. A COVID-19 specific cover is included in the comprehensive health insurance policies due to the compulsion made by the IRDAI. You must carefully go through your policy related documents to make sure that the cover has been included in your purchased plan. 

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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.