The severity of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken everybody by surprise and unfortunately, millions have been impacted. We have been consistently crossing over 3 lakh cases each day in the past few weeks and our healthcare infrastructure is unable to cope with this human tragedy.

Live TV

Loading...

Prevention is always better than cure and I would urge you to follow all the necessary Covid-related protocols to keep your family and yourself safe.

Having said that, there is a way by which you can mitigate the financial impact of this tragedy – health insurance.

Given the current conditions, the need for purchasing comprehensive health insurance is evident more than ever before. So do check up on your existing health insurance policy, review and renew your sum insured and opt for a suitable top-up if you require to enhance your coverage. Do read the fine print, especially relating to the waiting period of the insurance policy, carefully.

Currently, there are two options to increase your health insurance coverage in the wake of the pandemic – opting for a top-up/super top-up plan in addition to your existing comprehensive health insurance or purchasing a Covid Kavach policy.

The question is which one should you opt for?

Let’s try to break it down individually.

Corona Kavach Policy

As the name suggests, Corona Kavach policy offers insurance coverage specifically for the treatment of COVID-19. Last year, IRDAI issued a mandate to insurance companies to start issuing this standard cover. The objective was to provide focused protection to people who did not have comprehensive health insurance cover.

What do You Get in a Corona Kavach Policy?

Improved Policy Coverage

The Corona Kavach policy offers cover against hospitalization expenses (including comorbidities) such as room rent, PPE costs, nursing costs, doctor’s consultation fees, surgeon’s fee, etc. Given the shortage of hospital rooms, there is no cap on the room rent under the Corona Kavach policy.

One time Premium

If you opt for this COVID-specific policy, you only need to make a one-time premium payment, unlike other health insurance policies, which require periodic payments.

Affordability

As the policy only covers COVID-19, the premium cost is relatively low compared to a comprehensive annually renewable medical cover covering a much wider set of treatments.

Short Waiting Period

Typically, a medical insurance policy has a waiting period of 30 days. For Corona Kavach, the waiting period is reduced to 15 days. It means you can raise a claim and benefit from the coverage after just 15 days of purchase.

However, one must keep in mind that the Corona Kavach Policy offers a short-term cover. The sum insured of the policy ranges between INR 50,000 to INR 5 lakh max. The tenure period is limited to three and a half months, six and half months, or nine and a half months only. Earlier, these policies were allowed to be offered till March 31, 2021. But with the emergence of second-wave, IRDAI has allowed insurers to sell and renew these policies up to September 30, 2021.

Top-Up/Super Top-Up Coverage

Basically, all existing comprehensive health insurance or indemnity type health insurance policies provide cover against COVID-19 treatment expenses. However, it is important to have an adequate sum insured from the start and then choose a top-up or super top-up option to further enhance the coverage limit. You can purchase your top-up plans from any health insurance provider and not just your existing health insurer. It is, however, advisable to do so from the existing provider in order to reduce the hassle of documentation and claim settlement period.

What Do You Get in Top-Up/Super Top-Up Coverage?

Broader Coverage

A top-up is comprehensive insurance coverage that offers protection against a variety of medical emergencies including COVID-19. It is a financial backup in case the limit of your existing health coverage is exhausted due to prolonged hospitalization.

Cover Against Inflation

These top-up/super top-up plans help you in mitigating the growing inflation rates. You can choose a higher sum insured against an affordable premium.

Coverage for Pre-existing Diseases (PED)

While your existing health insurance may not cover any pre-existing diseases, a super top-up option can offer that, given the PED-related terms and conditions are met. It may however be noted that in such cases, the premium is generally higher.

Easy Renewal

Unlike Corona Kavach, these plans are life-long and can be easily renewed.

As with any regular health insurance policy, these top-up/super top-up options also have a waiting period of 30-days. Additionally, these plans have a mandatory deductible clause. It means you can raise a claim under the top-up/super top-up plan only after the medical expense crosses the deductible amount. However, the concept of deductible works differently for a top-up and super top-up option while raising multiple claims in a year.

For a top-up plan, the deductible limit is applicable afresh for each claim. Whereas, for super top-up plan the deductible limit considers total permissible medical costs sustained over the year.

So, the question remains – a top-up/super top-up option or Covid-specific policy?

Considering the current scenario, you should first evaluate your current health insurance coverage and decide whether you need a short-term specific cover or a top-up plan depending upon your risk outlook. Generally speaking, comprehensive health insurance with sufficient top-up coverage should suffice for your family as it covers you for a wide range of medical emergencies, including COVID-19.

One good option for you can be Liberty General Insurance Health Connect – Supra Policy. Supra, with its all-inclusive feature available at an extremely competitive premium, can be the right super top-up to opt for all who have an inadequate base policy. Supra also has an optional reload feature, which ensures that even if the sum insured is exhausted due to prolonged hospitalization in the same year for different treatments, it would be refilled one more time.

For example, a family of four (Assuming Main Insured – 33 years, Spouse 31 years, 1st Child-3 years and 2nd Child-1 year) can have two choices. One, they opt for a high sum insured base health insurance policy. In this, the premium will be high. A coverage of INR 1 Crore will have a premium ranging between INR 55,000 to INR 60,000 per annum. The second choice would be to opt for a base policy plus a super top-up. So, the base policy can be of INR 10 Lakh and a super top-up policy of INR 1 Crore with INR 10 Lakh deductible. This would cost the family in the range of INR 22,000 to INR 25,000 per annum.

The second choice helps save more than 50% on health insurance but ensures the family has a significant cover for the whole year.

A covid-specific policy, though good and (possibly) adequate, cannot replace your general health insurance cover. In these difficult times, it is imperative to take the maximum level of precaution (both physically and financially) to protect yourself and keep your family safe. You need to review your condition accurately and need to make an informed decision. Stay safe and stay healthy.

The author, Roopam Asthana, is CEO and Whole-time Director at Liberty General Insurance. The views expressed are personal

(Edited by : Anshul)

First Published:May 17, 2021 12:25 PM IST