Covid scare rising: How much health insurance cover you should have

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The pace of growth of Covid-19 infections and deaths across the country is alarming. Hospitals are grappling with the inflow of patients in the second wave, many of whom this time around are youngsters, unlike the first wave in 2020. In fact, this time around, Covid-19 is more contagious and is spreading at a faster rate than before.

The hospistalisation costs, especially if one has to be in intensive care, can be difficult to handle and can lead to great financial stress for the family members. This could be a good time to review your health insurance cover and try and get as much cover as possible for the family.

“New medical assessment has found Covid 19 to be an airborne disease which means the ratio of the population getting affected is much higher. Therefore, it is more essential than earlier to have a relook at your health insurance portfolio to cover the needs of current times considering medical inflation,” Naval Goel, founder and CEO, PolicyX.com said.

While there are Covid-specific health insurance policies on offer in the market, it may be better to have a comprehensive health insurance cover that with adequate protection against hospitalisation.

“Covid-19 coverage must be a part of a health insurance portfolio. An individual can opt for a Covid-19 specific policy to get an exclusive coverage from this particular disease in case he/she doesn’t have any health care plan. However, now all health insurance plans are providing coverage for Covid-19. Also, Covid-19 patients are grappling with some prolonged effect on other body parts which sometimes require separate medication, which are not covered under Covid-19 specific policies. Therefore, it is advisable to have a standard health insurance plan which ensures a complete coverage from all kinds of diseases,” Goel said.

It is always advisable to have a minimum Rs 5 lakh coverage for a person of 30 years of age with a healthy lifestyle and non-smoking habits to begin with. It can be increased on an annual basis, keeping changing health conditions in mind.

If you are looking for high sum assured, especially at a time when the Covid case count is going up, then you may also want to explore some top-up health insurance policies.

Here is an indicative table on premium on Covid-19 specific covers by some leading companies: