A popular digital payment and e-commerce platform is offering users a dengue insurance scheme.
The move shows how a cover against the mosquito-borne disease is being considered a necessity in the face of the recent outbreak. At least one other private insurer already has a dengue-specific policy.
Digital payment and e-commerce platform offers dengue insurance scheme. Paytm introduced the option around a month ago. The cover on offer is for Rs 15,000 for an annual premium of Rs 99. Paytm users aged between 18 and 65 are eligible.
The insured person must have spent at least 48 hours in hospital and the platelet count should have dropped below 1 lakh for the user to avail him of the insurance.
“Calcutta is one of our biggest markets. With the spurt in dengue in the city and its surrounding areas, we hope our offering will prove useful. The response has been positive. In the past fortnight, there has been an increase in the number of users from Calcutta who have opted for dengue insurance,” said Shankar Nath, a senior vice-president at Paytm. He could not provide specific numbers.
“The product is available for all Paytm users in the country. We are expecting many takers from the east,” Nath said.
Keeping mosquitoes away from your cellphone
LG claims with its new smartphone launch that it will repel mosquitoes using ultrasonic waves. The South Korean firm said the LG K7i, launched at the India Mobile Congress in Delhi in September, emits ultrasonic waves that should drive away mosquitoes and are safe for humans. The company already has air conditioners and TVs with “mosquito-repellent” technology. Scientists have, however, questioned the effectiveness of ultrasonic mosquito repellents.
