The Second wave of Covid 19 has hit India hard. After the first wave subsided, the government and people started taking it easy and all necessary protocols went haywire. There was serious laxity by the government who could not anticipate the possible impaact. The Covid 19 management in the first wave was done pretty nicely and things were under control.
Currently the daily infection rate has breached the 3.5 lakh mark. In May 2021 it is expected that the figure may touch 5 lakhs cases per day. In the second wave young generations are getting more affected. This is really a cause of concern for a 130 crore populated country like India. If proper action is not taken God knows where the number will stand.
There has been a severe Risk Management failure too. The experts should have sounded an alarm about the possibilities of a second wave and the possible measures to tackle the pandemic. Consequently the business cycle will again get disrupted and the overall economy will suffer.
All these events have a direct impact on the Insurance Industry. The rising number of cases will result in huge claims in health insurance. Already the hospitals have started denying cashless facilities which is impacting the smooth process of claims settlement. In many cases the whole family is affected with Covid 19 and there would be difficulty in timely submission of claims too. IRDA and Insurance companies must also keep this aspect in mind while dealing with claims.
In order to contain the pandemic the government should consider partial lockdown of the country again. Few renowned doctors have already confirmed that there would be a serious deficit of doctors in the coming days. Overall the situation is very grim and we need to take timely measures to contain pandemic.
