BENGALURU: There have been rumours circulating on social media about people having to show acknowledgement of taking the Covid vaccine to insurance companies to cover hospitalisation for Covid-19.
If there is no record of the person being vaccinated, there will be a hike in premium, the rumours state.
However, when TNIE checked with multiple insurance companies and sources in the insurance sector, they said there is no link between vaccination and corona insurance cover, as of now.
From a regulatory framework, there is no need to produce a Covid vaccination certificate right now as the insurance policy is not designed that way.
Going forward, only if the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) makes it compulsory, can insurance companies ask for any certificate, said Girish Rao, chairman and managing director of Vidal Health, a Third Party Administrator (TPA).
“As for a hike in premium, if the person is not vaccinated and needs Covid insurance cover, there is no such information from regulators. It is too premature to conclude on this as it depends on whether the government decides to make vaccination compulsory as a public policy. It will also depend on the risk factor, as vaccinating a large number of the population is expected to bring herd immunity in people,” Rao added.
Amjad Khan, Director, Head Employee Benefit Practice at Anand Rathi Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd, and Sanjay Dattta, Chief-Underwriting, Claims and Reinsurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, also echoed the same.
Datta said that the need for vaccination acknowledgement and hike in premium for not having been vaccinated are rumours.
As per the latest regulator guidelines, the pandemic is covered under all group health plans and no insurer can deny Covid claims under a normal group health plan.
Thus, vaccinated or not, the customer would not have to produce any certification as the policy will cover it irrespective of either situation, Khan said.
“People would buy the specific Covid insurance policy to cover corona claims as that would be much cheaper than buying a health insurance plan. If there is the Covid vaccine acknowledgement, there could be discounts on the premium payable for the health plan (10-15%) or the Covid plan (30-40%),” Khan added.
Suresh Ramegowda, senior wealth manager at an insurance company, said that the Corona Kavach insurance policy mandated by the regulator does not depend on vaccination but on sum insured, age and period of insurance policy.
A source from the public sector insurance said Covid vaccination affecting insurance cover is fake news.
A Covid positive report is enough to claim the insurance and premium is dependent on the age of the person, as per IRDAI instructions, the source said.