Reports of a massive surge in COVID-19 infections in China, led by an Omicron sub-lineage BF.7, has given rise to apprehensions over the possibility of a spill-over effect in India. While the fear of catching the disease has led to a doubling of daily vaccination rates, it's important to see if we have adequate health insurance or not to meet the expenses related to the treatment. The lives of many people have been affected earlier by the disease.

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As per Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority in India's (IRDAI's) mandate, existing health insurance policies now include coverage for COVID-19-related hospitalisation. Apart from this, there are several customized health insurance policies for COVID-19 too available in the market which can be considered.

In 2020, IRDAI asked all insurance companies to come out with 'Corona Kavach' and 'Corona Rakshak' policies to help consumers protect themselves from the financial burden of Covid-19 medical bills. Both corona health insurance policies are designed to cover you against the expense of COVID-19 treatment at a low cost.

About Corona Kavach

Corona Kavach is a standard indemnity-based COVID-19 policy for a term of three-and-a-half months, six-and-a-half months and nine-and-a-half months with a sum insured ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh (in multiples of Rs 50,000).

These policies have common coverage across the industry. However, there is some difference in the way insurers have priced the product.

About Corona Rakshak

This is a standard benefit-based policy. If a policyholder is hospitalised for a minimum of 72 hours (3 days) after testing Covid-19 positive at any government-approved testing centre, the insurance company pays a lump sum payment equal to the sum insured under this insurance policy.

It is a regular fixed benefit plan in which policyholders will receive 100 percent of the insured amount.

Here's a difference between 'Corona Kavach' and 'Corona Rakshak':

Now, let's take a look at the difference in the premium between Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak policies:

(Note: This is from Policybazaar. However, the insurance aggregator mentioned that this is only for reference purposes. One should refer to policy wording before purchase)

How comprehensive health insurance policy is different from these plans?

A comprehensive health insurance plan, as the name suggests, covers all major illnesses, including seasonal illnesses and accidents, up to the sum insured for which the customer has opted. These policies also cover all kinds of respiratory diseases, which means they cover coronavirus, provided the affected person does not have COVID-19 when purchasing the policy.

On the other hand, COVID-19 policies are specific to the disease.