Buy Corona Rakshak Health Insurance Policy

Corona Rakshak is an Individual Covid standard health insurance proposed by the Insurance regulatory and development authority of India and is being offered by almost all the general and standalone health insurance companies in India. Some of these companies include Acko Corona Rakshak, Go digit, Edelweiss Tokio and HDFC ERGO Corona Rakshak etc. Let us understand the coverage and exemptions under the Corona Kavach insurance policy:-

• Entry Age: Minimum entry age is 18 years and the maximum age at entry shall be at least 65 years. Insurance companies are permitted to cover people above 65 years of age as per their product filing with the IRDA and the underwriting philosophy of the company. Children shall be covered from Day 1 of age up to 25 years.
• Family Floater: Corona Rakshak policy can be taken on an individual basis only, no family floater plans are available.
• Policy Tenure: The policy tenure of the Corona Rakshak is of three and half months (3.5 months), six and half months (6.5 months), and nine and half months (9.5 months) which includes the waiting period mentioned under the terms and conditions of the policy.
• Type of Policy: Corona Rakshak is a “Benefit based policy” which means that the insured will be reimbursed the actual sum insured mentioned under the policy if diagnosed with the Coronavirus irrespective of the amount incurred for the treatment. In this policy a lump sum benefit equal to 100% of the sum insured shall be payable on a positive diagnosis of COVID, requiring hospitalization for a minimum period of 72 hours following the positive diagnosis of Covid. The positive diagnosis shall be from the Government authorized diagnostic center.
• Waiting period: There is a waiting period of 15 days applicable from the policy start date. No claim shall be payable within the waiting period by the insurance company.
• Room Rent/ICU Limit: There is no Room rent or ICU limit under the policy. You can get the actual amount incurred on the room rent and ICU. The benefit amount paid to the insured customer can be used to pay the ICU or Room rent.
• Hospitalization Expenses: Hospitalization expenses such as Surgeon, Anaesthetist, Medical Practitioner, Consultant, and Specialist Fees whether paid directly to the treating doctor/surgeon or the hospital. Anaesthesia, blood, oxygen, operation theatre charges, surgical appliances, ventilator charges, medicines and drugs, costs towards diagnostics, diagnostic imaging modalities, PPE Kit, gloves, mask, and similar other expenses. A minimum of 72 hours of hospitalization is mandatory for the claim to be paid under the Corona Rakshak insurance policy.
• Ambulance Charges: There is no separate provision for the ambulance charges; the lump sum amount includes the ambulance charge as well.
• Sub Limits: There are no sub-limits mentioned under the Corona Rakshak insurance policy and the lump sum amount can be utilized for the treatment of Coronavirus.
• Home care treatment: Home care treatment is not covered under the Corona Rakshak insurance policy as this policy requires at least 72 hours of hospitalization for the claim to be admissible.
• Day Care & OPD: Day-care and OPD treatments are not covered under the Corona Rakshak policy as the corona treatment requires 72 hours of hospitalization for the claim to be admissible.
• Pre & Post Hospitalization Expenses: Pre-hospitalization expenses of up to 15 days before the date of hospitalization are covered under the Corona Rakshak insurance. Post-hospitalization medical expenses incurred for a period of 30 days from the date of discharge from the hospital are covered under the corona Rakshak policy.
• AYUSH Coverage: Corona Rakshak insurance policy covers the claim costs incurred for treatment of Corona under the AYUSH systems of medicine subject to hospitalization for a minimum of 72 hours.
• Sum Insured: The minimum sum insured under the Corona Rakshak policy is Rs.50, 000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand) and the maximum sum insured is Rs.2, 50, 000/- (Rupees Two Lakhs Fifty thousand). It is up to the customer to choose the sum insured in multiples of fifty thousand.
• EMI facility: The premium should be paid at one shot, and no EMI options are available under the Corona Kavach insurance policy.
• Pre-Existing Disease: Any claim relating to Covid-19 if it has been diagnosed before the policy start date will not be admissible under the Corona Rakshak policy. However, during the course of treatment for Covid 19, the policy covers the cost of treatment for any co-morbid conditions including pre-existing diseases.
• Renewal: Corona Rakshak policy cannot be renewed and a new policy needs to be taken at the time of renewal.
• Waiting period in Renewal Policy: In case the Corona Rakshak policy is renewed within time, then there would be no waiting period of 15 days applicable.
• Sum Insured Enhancement: The sum insured cannot be enhanced during the policy period and the higher sum insured can be chosen only at the time of renewal. Midterm sum insured enhancement is not permitted by the insurance companies under the corona rakshak insurance policies.
• Migration/ Portability: Customers cannot migrate or port their existing Corona Rakshak insurance policies to other insurance companies. The existing policies can be canceled if the customers are not satisfied with the service of the insurance company and purchase a new policy from another insurance company.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Corona Rakshak Insurance

Advantages of Corona Rakshak Insurance

• Benefit Policy: The major advantage of the Corona Rakshak policy is that it is a “Benefit-based” policy. Corona Rakshak policy settles the total sum insured as the claim amount in case of diagnosis with Coronavirus. Even if the customer has not incurred the sum insured towards treatment the overall sum insured will be paid to the customer.
• Easy claim settlement: Another advantage of the Corona Rakshak insurance policy is the ease of claim settlement. The claim is settled by the insurance company after submitting the Covid-19 diagnosis report, and hospitalization report, and there would be no hassle to submit other claim-related documents which would be mandatory for other health insurance policies.
• Affordable Policy: The premium to be paid in the case of Corona Rakshak policies is very affordable which would be a few hundred bucks. The premium is less when compared to traditional health insurance policies. Here the premium is not charged based on very advantageous age.

Disadvantages of Corona Rakshak Insurance

• Limited Coverage: Under the Corona Rakshak policy the minimum sum insured is Rs.50k while the Maximum sum insured is only Rs.2.5 Lacs. In these turbulent times, the sum insured of Rs.2.5 Lacs would not be sufficient to recover the treatment costs of Corona-related illness.
• Policy Period: The policy period in the Corona Kavach policies would be 3.5 months, 6.5 months, and 9.5 months, so if one wants to take Corona Kavach for 12 months then they have to renew the policy after 9.5 months. This short period of coverage may cause inconvenience to the customer if they forget to renew their policy on time forcing them to satisfy the waiting period.
• Limited Benefits: The benefits offered under the Corona Kavach insurance policy are limited only to the coverage of Corona-related treatments. This means that customer has to have at least 2 health insurance policies; one Corona health insurance policy and another general health insurance policy. This health insurance policy cannot be used for the treatment of other illnesses or diseases apart from Covid-19.
• Multiple policies: The major disadvantage of Corona insurance policies is that the policy would apply to the treatment of specific diseases only and there need to be taken a separate health insurance policy to cover other illnesses and diseases.