Covid-19 infections are on the rebound. Despite the precautions, the cases are on the rise across the country. While it is paramount that you take precautions and avoid getting infected, given the pace of spread, you must also prepare for the financial burden if you or one of your family members gets infected and requires medical treatment.
One of the ways to avoid a financial hit is to purchase a regular health insurance plan or a Covid-19 treatment-related health plan. Many insurers have already launched such plans. However, as we know, health insurance policy terms and conditions are not easy to grasp even for the most savvy.
With this thought, IRDA, the insurance regulator, had released guidelines for the Standard Covid-19 Health Insurance (Coronavirus Health Insurance) Policies last year. It had further mandated that all the general and standalone health insurance companies must launch these standard Covid-19 plans.
As a buyer, it becomes easy for you to make your choice.
There are two variants of standard Covid-19 health insurance products suggested by IRDA.
- Corona Kavach: It is an indemnity plan. The insurance company reimburses the cost of hospitalization expenses, including pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization related expenses.
- Corona Rakshak: This is a fixed benefit plan, much like a critical illness plan. On positive diagnosis of Covid-19, the insurance pays the entire insurance amount and the policy terminates. The insurance pay-out has no relation to the actual medical expenses incurred for the treatment.
All the general and standalone health insurance companies must mandatorily launch the Corona Kavach product with standard policy features as prescribed by IRDA. It is not mandatory for an insurer to launch the Corona Rakshak policy.
All the insurers must use the same nomenclature (Corona Kavach or Corona Rakshak) while launching these products. All such policies (even from different insurers) will have the same policy wordings.
Note that the insurers can always launch other Covid-19 related insurance products over and above these standard products. For the non-standard products, the policy terms and conditions can be different.
Let us find out about Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak plans in detail.
Corona Kavach: Covid-19 Indemnity Based Health Insurance Plan: Important Features
- The product is available on both individual and family floater basis.
- Sum Insured: Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lacs, in multiples of Rs 50,000
- Indemnity plan i.e. medical expenses for Covid-19 related treatment shall be covered.
- Any co-morbid condition triggered due to Covid-19 shall also be covered during hospitalization.
- Pre-hospitalization expenses covered for 15 days.
- Post-hospitalization expenses covered for 30 days.
- Home Care Treatment: Maximum up to 14 days per incident
- Ambulance charges: Rs 2,000 per hospitalization
- Optional cover of Hospital Daily Cash: 0.5% of Sum Insured per day for a maximum of 15 days per member.
- Minimum hospitalization of 24 hours is needed.
- AYUSH treatment is covered.
- Even PPE kit costs are covered. This has been a source of confusion in regular health insurance policies.
- Day-care and OPD treatment NOT covered
- Cashless Facility Available at network hospitals
- Waiting period: 15 days (if you are diagnosed with Covid-19 within 15 days of purchase, the insurance company will not pay for the treatment).
- Policy period: 3.5 months, 6.5 months, or 9.5 months. The policy period includes the waiting period.
- Eligibility: Between 18 and 65 years.
- Under the family floater plan, you can include spouse, parents, parents-in-law, and dependent children up to 25 years of age.
- No room rent sub-limit
- No deductibles permitted under this policy.
- Single-Premium Payment Policy
- Even though the policy features are the same, different insurers may charge different premiums for the same coverage.
- 5% discount to doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.
- The name of the policy shall be Corona Kavach policy, followed by the name of the insurance company. E.g. Corona Kavach Policy-ICICI Lombard, Corona Kavach Policy-Max Bupa
- As per the original guidelines, these policies were to remain valid until March 31, 2021. However, since the Coronavirus pandemic has rebounded, IRDA has, in its circular dated March 24, 2021, allowed insurers to issue/renew the Corona Kavach (and Corona Rakshak) policies until September 30, 2021. There is no concept of lifelong renewal in these policies.
I checked the premium for Corona Kavach Policy on Max Bupa website.
Age: 35, Cover: Rs 5 lacs
3.5 months premium: Rs 1,956
6.5 months premium: Rs 2,608
9.5 months premium: Rs 3,260
This LiveMint article specifies the cost of Corona Kavach policy for different policy periods across insurers.
Corona Rakshak: Covid-19 Standard Fixed Benefit Health Plan: Important Features
- Only individual plan available. Family floater plan not available.
- Sum Insured: Rs 50,000 to Rs 2.5 lacs
- Fixed benefit plan. The entire insurance amount is paid on diagnosis of Covid-19 as lumpsum. The insurance pay-out has no relation to the treatment cost.
- The positive diagnosis of Covid-19 must be from a Government authorized diagnostic centre. Minimum hospitalization of 72 hours is required.
- If the hospitalization is less than 72 hours, then the insurance company is not liable to pay.
- Waiting period: 15 days (if you are diagnosed with Covid-19 within 15 days of purchase, the insurance company will not pay anything).
- Policy period: 3.5 months, 6.5 months, or 9.5 months. The policy period includes the waiting period.
- Eligibility: Between 18 and 65 years.
- As with Corona Kavach policy, there is no concept of renewal. Lifelong renewal not applicable
- The name of the policy shall be Corona Rakshak policy, followed by the name of the insurance company. E.g. Corona Rakshak Policy-ICICI Lombard, Corona Rakshak Policy-Max Bupa
Which is better: Corona Rakshak or Corona Kavach Policy?
Before you answer that, you must see if you need Covid-19 specific policies. If you already own a private health insurance plan or employer group insurance plan, you will likely be covered for Covid-19 related medical treatment.
Check this with your insurer. In addition, there has been some confusion regarding treatment costs and hospital charges. Regular health insurance plans do not cover consumables. From what I understand, in some hospitals, the consumables such as PPE kits and masks have formed a considerable portion of hospital bills. Seek clarity from your insurer about these aspects too. Once you are sure that your existing insurer will cover Covid-19 treatment costs, then the need for Covid-19 specific health plans automatically goes down.
You are better off enhancing your existing cover or buying a super-top up plan to augment your health coverage, instead of buying a Covid-19 specific cover. However, enhancing your health cover is possible only at the time of policy renewal. So, if your policy renewal is some time away, these Covid-specific schemes can add value.
If you do not have adequate health coverage or you just want to play safe, you can consider buying one of these two plans. Please understand, if you do not have adequate health cover, buying a Corona Kavach or Corona Rakshak plan will not do away with the need of buying a regular health insurance plan.
Between the two Covid-19 plans discussed above, consider the maximum sum insured. Corona Kavach has a maximum sum insured of Rs 5 lacs and Corona Rakshak has maximum Sum insured of Rs 2.5 lacs. So, higher coverage possible in Corona Kavach.
Corona Kavach is available in Family Floater variant. Corona Rakshak is not. Hence, if you want to buy Corona Rakshak for your family, you must purchase individual policies for each member. This will increase cost in case of Corona Rakshak.
The above two points are in favour of Corona Kavach policy.
On the other hand, with Corona Rakshak policy, once you have finished 72 hours of hospitalization after a positive diagnosis, the insurance company will pay the entire insurance amount lumpsum. You do not have to worry about admissible or inadmissible expenses, which you will have to in case of Corona Kavach. At the same time, note that hospitalization must be at least 72 hours in Corona Rakshak (only 24 hours in Corona Kavach). What if you get diagnosed with Covid-19 and the hospitalization is less than 72 hours?
As you can see, it is not that simple.
A lot will also depend on the premium amounts for the two types of policies. I do not find much premium information about Corona Rakshak Policies.
What do you prefer? Corona Kavach or Corona Rakshak or neither since you think your health insurance plan is sufficient?
Additional Links
Corona Rakshak: Covid-19 Standard Fixed Benefit Health Insurance Guidelines (IRDA Guidelines)
Corona Kavach: Covid-19 Standard Indemnity Health Plan (IRDA Guidelines)
8 thoughts on “Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak Health Insurance Plans: Should you buy?”
Respected Sir. Regards. I have purchased HDFCLIFE Samchay Plus Plan . Option Life Long. As per your understanding. , One has to be alive till 99 yrs to get back return of premium. In the benefits section of Policy document. I am reproducing a sentence as below for your views.
” At the end of the payout period the policy terminates by returning the total premium paid ”
Waiting for your comments.. Thanks
Sirji, It is difficult to get admission in hospitals due to non availability of beds. In such circumstances, IRDA should waive the requirement of hospitalisation so that benefit can be availed by the insured after having tested positive by a Government recognised lab.
I am a healthcare worker, working on the frontline of the pandemic. Sad thing is that we are the ones who are at the highest risk of getting infected (almost certainly). I have a Health Insurance for 5 lakhs with National Insurance which will hopefully cover the costs if I ever become hospitalised. But now I am thinking about buying the newly introduced CORONA RAKSHAK policy which is a fixed benefit based policy. My question is if I can but more than one CORONA RAKSHAK policies so as to give myself an adequate cover if my hopital bills shoots up ??
AFAIK benefit based policies are not covered under the Contribution Clause. Can you shed more light on it ? Thanks
Hi Ramesh,
I salute your commitment. Working for society when there is such a high risk of infection is commendable. Not many can do this.
Corona Rakshak is a fixed benefit plan. Hence, you must be able to buy more than one and claim from multiple policies. I did not see anything in the IRDA guidelines that prevents you from doing this. Please understand this is my opinion.
Contribution clause used to be applicable for indemnity policies such as Corona Kavach. There was never any concept of contribution in fixed benefit plans such as Corona Rakshak or any other critical illness plan.
In any case, contribution as a concept has been withdrawn by IRDA in the 2016 regulations. Hence, nothing to worry on this front.
Can someone take both rakshak and kavach policies and benefit from both? Is there any restriction in this regard?
No such restriction.
Is it necessary to admit in hospital for 72 hours. Or else Can home quarantine of 14 days be treated as hospitalization, and the person quarantine at home can claim for Corana Rakshak.
hey, that’s exciting stuff. Glad to read this