Thread by @themahavir

WHO says Coronavirus🦠threat is permanent!

Should you have a separate Coronavirus Health plan? Read on.

Thread 1/n

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-…

The terms & conditions of regular health insurance are not perfectly compatible with a Covid19 kind of treatment. This is largely due to a lack of defined protocols & charges for treatment between Hospitals and Govts or Insurers.

2/n

Insurers are complaining about unreasonable hospital bills since the time claims started trickling in early April. bit.ly/35Wp1ns

3/n

Health insurance policies have the "reasonable and customary charges" clause that protect insurers from random billing by hospitals.

Yes. Insurers will be forced to use this clause to make deductions in your claim.

4/n

Plus, health insurance policies do not cover disposables like gloves, PPEs, etc. And such charges for a big portion of the hospital bills.
(Have recently seen a bill that charged Rs. 8900 per day just for PPE.)

5/n

So, clearly, there are significant deductions likely when you make a claim for a Covid19 hospitalization.
The average *claim* for Covid19 is reported to be Rs. 2 Lakhs. In which case, you may have to pay Rs. 50K from your pocket (quick estimate)

6/n

Here specialized Covid19 health insurance policies that give fixed cash on the diagnosis of Covid19 can be useful supplementary cover.

Can help compensate these deductions (and maybe even loss of income in case you are self-employed.)

7/n

These policies are simple and pay fixed cash. You just need to submit the medical test report from a recognized laboratory.

No bills are required to be submitted.

8/n

Now, there are many of these apps from Flipkart to PayTM to PhonePe to Airtel Payments offering special Covid19 covers.

How do you decide on a plan?

9/n

How to choose a special Covid19 plan to complement your existing insurance?

a) a plan that offers Fixed Benefit, and not an indemnity/ reimbursement of your expenses.
b) Ensure you take a significant cover (above or equal to Rs. 1 Lakh)

10/n

An indemnity plan that just reimburses expenses like a regular health insurance plan does not meet the purpose of complementing your existing plan.

If you are looking for an upgrade, then a Super Top-up plan is a better option.

11/n

Here are Covid19 policies that offer a Fixed Benefit cover of above Rs. 1L.

- Currently, only PayTM with Reliance offers significant covers.
- The cover other apps like Flipkart- ICICI, Airtel-Bharti provide are too small.

12/n

Excerpts from Data compiled by @Rahul_J_Mathur

Not comparing reimbursement-based plans available on Flipkart-GoDigit and PhonePe-Bajaj, as they are not recommended.

I can send you the comparison separately if you want.

13/n

Some imp. conditions apart from the ones mentioned in the comparison (1/2):

In case you have any existing disease, you will only get the claim if the doctor certifies that the reason for the hospitalization is Covid19 and not the existing disease.

14/n

No claim is payable if you were living with someone who has been quarantined or diagnosed with Covid19 at the *time of buying* the policy.

So don't buy these policies if you are living with someone who is Covid19 positive.

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Of course, this is a snapshot of the policies available and not an exhaustive comparison.

You must read the policy conditions carefully and consult your financial advisor before you buy the policy.

Hope this helps 🙏

16/n
Fin.