The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has extended the deadline for general insurance companies to continue selling Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak policies until the end of March 2022, citing the potential threat of a Covid-19 third wave in India.
All insurers are able to offer and renew short-term Covid specific health policies until March 31, 2022, according to the insurance regulator’s latest circular. Previously, Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak policies of any tenure can be extended for three-and-a-half months, six-and-a-half months, or nine-and-a-half months, depending on the policyholder’s preference, until September 30, 2021. Policyholders will now be allowed to renew their policies until the end of this fiscal year, due to the recent IRDAI directive.
Corona Rakshak is a benefit-based product, whereas Corona Kavach is an indemnity-based product. Unlike benefit insurance, which pays a set amount after a claim, indemnity plans give either cashless or reimbursement for medical expenses.
In a separate circular, the IRDAI stated that general insurers’ exemptions for the issue of electronic policies, as well as the elimination of physical documents and wet signatures, had been extended until the end of March 2022.
Following requests from insurance companies seeking an exemption from the requirement to give physical policy documents and hard copies of proposal forms in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the regulator granted the waiver last year.
TO READ THE OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION CLICK HERE