It is the time of the year when mosquitoes start transmitting highly infectious diseases such as dengue, malaria, chikungunya, kala azar, Japanese encephalitis, filariasis, Zika virus etc. They spread rapidly, especially during the monsoon when water logging is common. About 95% of India’s population resides in malaria-endemic areas.
Since mortality due to vector borne diseases is declining, around 75% financial burden is in terms of loss of earnings, while another 25% is due to treatment costs.
This is probably the reason why IRDAI has asked all general and health insurance providers to offer a standard vector borne disease health cover – Mashak Rakshak, starting from April 1, 2021.
Vector Borne Disease-Specific Health Insurance Covers
These are benefit policies, which means that in case you’re diagnosed with the disease, you will be offered a lumpsum amount that you opted for in the beginning. For example, if you chose a Rs 50,000 cover, in the event of being diagnosed with the disease you’d be paid the amount upfront by your insurance company.
The sum insured benefits in most of these policies start from Rs10,000 and can go up to Rs 2,00,000 or more.
This is because the treatment cost for vector borne disease can fall anywhere between this range given the severity of its manifestation in a person. The various insurance companies provide coverage benefits premiums which range anywhere between Rs 200 to Rs 3000 for an annual vector borne cover.
Why should you consider buying a vector borne cover?
If you have a corporate health insurance policy that has got you covered, or if you have an individual health insurance policy, you might wonder if it is relevant to opt for such an insurance cover. Here are a few points to consider:
- Most of the health insurance policies do not cover medical costs if a person isn’t hospitalised for 24 hours. In case of milder versions of the viral infection, you’ll be spending extra on medicines, food and would be out of business – all of which can be taken care of by this policy. This hence would act as a benefit cover, over and above your existing policies.
- These policies can be opted for one’s parents or kids, who might not be having adequate health insurance coverage but are equally susceptible to a viral outbreak.
- The policy is simple to understand, fits the budget and is easy to claim, and hence can be bought by everyone, especially the ones at a higher risk of contracting the disease such as people living in congested localities or hilly or humid regions.
In the current times when we are already braving the financial consequences of a big pandemic such as COVID19, being extra prepared for any kind of medical crises would hurt no one. A mosquito specific health insurance policy will ensure an added layer of coverage in the wake of a medical exigency.
