The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India vide its circular dated 23rd June 2020 has issued guidelines on the introduction of short-term health insurance policies providing coverage for the COVID-19 disease.
To make available insurance protection to the various sections of people amid the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, IRDAI introduces the short term health insurance policies providing coverages specific to the COVID-19 disease. Accordingly, all insurers (Life, General and Health Insurers) are allowed to offer COVID–19 specific short term health insurance policies based on guidelines.
These short term policies will offer insurance for a period between 3 to 11 months. These policies are permitted to be offered both as individual and group products and if the term of policy is fixed as 12 months, the same is not considered as short term health policy.
The short term health insurance policies are permitted to offer only health insurance cover specific to coronavirus disease. The policy will have a waiting period which should not exceed 15 days as per IRDAI. No separate add-ons are permitted. Lifelong renew-ability, migration and portability are not applicable to the short-term health policies offered by general and health insurers.
These guidelines will remain valid for issue of short term policies till 31st March 2021 unless extended further.
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