A coronavirus-focused health insurance plan called ‘Covid Shield +’ was launched by Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance recently.
It combines a critical illness benefits and a term cover. The plan has a small base of 1.25 times the premium. The plan is activated after a one-time payment of premium and carries 1-year tenure.
It is a single-disease cover that combines critical illness benefits and term cover. For a minimum premium of Rs 5,329, the plan offers critical illness benefits of Rs 10 lakh 24 hours post Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or High-dependency Unit (HDU) hospitalisation after being diagnosed with Covid-19. The CI benefit is 40% of sum insured.
Commenting on the product launch, Subhrajit Mukhopadhyay, Executive Director, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance said, “We have always strived to create relevant innovation, in line with the changing customer needs. Through our recent customer interactions, we realised that the threat of financial impact has made this disease even more daunting. People are worried that a Covid-19 diagnosis will disrupt their savings and therefore their long-term aspirations. We want to take away that worry from our customers through Covid Shield+ and let them focus on a healthy recovery instead of their finances.”
The enhanced sum insured which can range from Rs 20-25 lakh gets triggered once the insured person is diagnosed with Covid-19.
If the insured person dies of Covid-19 during the policy tenure, the term cover is paid to the family.
“There were several factors that contributed to this product design. While ICU/HDU hospitalisation can be an expensive affair, the peripheral and post-hospitalisation costs for recovery are also significant. There is also a considerable risk of income loss if the breadwinner does not survive the disease. Some families are already combating worries of job loss and any huge healthcare expense could completely deplete their savings. Covid Shield+ is a comprehensive solution that provides financial protection against any such eventuality,” Mukhopadhyay added.
