The insurance regulator has announced guidelines for a standard vector borne disease-specific health insurance product.
According to the guidelines realised by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) today, the minimum sum insured under Standard Product shall be ₹10,000 while the maximum limit will be ₹2 lakh.
“In order to make available vector borne disease-specific health insurance product addressing the needs of insuring public for getting health insurance coverage to specified vector borne diseases, the Authority encourages all general and health insurers to offer Standard Vector Borne Disease Health Policy,” said the regulator in a circular.
The insurer may determine the price keeping in view the cover proposed to be offered, subject to complying with the norms specified in the IRDAI (Health Insurance) Regulations, 2016 and Guidelines notified there under.
The Coverage of Standard Product should be offered on a fixed benefit basis as specified in these guidelines.
The total amount payable in respect of the coverages offered should not not exceed 100 per cent of the sum insured during a policy period.
The Standard Product shall offer policy tenure of one year and will cover any one or a combination of dengue fever, malaria, filarial, kala-azar, chickungunya, Japanese Encephalitis and Zika virus.
Two per cent of the sum insured shall be payable on positive diagnosis (through laboratory examination and confirmed by the medical practitioner) of every covered vector borne disease on the first diagnosis during the Cover period, subject to policy terms and conditions.
The policyholder is entitled for payments under “diagnosis cover” payment for each disease only once in the policy year.
Commenting on the product, Gurdeep Singh Batra, Head – Retail Underwriting, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said: “This is a good product introduced well in time considering the upcoming onset of monsoon as that’s when people suffer the most from vector-borne diseases, and with the fear of Covid-19 still around, I believe it will be a good offering for all.”