The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has permitted all insurers – life, non-life and health – to issue specific short-term health insurance policies for coronavirus.
The IRDAI circular issued on 23 June 2020 said: “General insurers and health insurers are now allowed to offer both indemnity-based and benefit-based short-term health cover.
“Life insurers, however, are permitted to offer only benefit-based policies.
“They could be both individual and group products.”
Details
All insurers have been advised to create inclusive short-term health insurance products. Waiting period should not exceed 15 days.
The circular also said all insurers should file the short-term health cover products for approval from IRDAI and launch them after they are permitted.
The minimum sum assured for the product will be $660 (£528, €585) and it can go up to a maximum of $66,000.
The short-term health insurance policies will have to be launched by 15 July 2020 and the guidelines will remain in place for short-term policies until 31 March 2021 unless extended further.
DVS Ramesh, IRDAI general manager of health, said: “Health insurance policies providing specific cover to coronavirus are the need of the hour.”
Guidelines
According to the IRDAI guidelines a short-term health policy provides cover for a minimum period of three months to a maximum of 11 months.
“If the term of the policy is fixed for 12 months, it will not be considered as a short-term policy,’’ the circular said.
