General insurers received 80,900 Covid claims worth Rs 1,290 cr till Jul 31

The Indian general insurance industry received around 80,900 Covid-19 claims involving Rs 1,290 crore as on July 31, said an industry official.

"Around 80,900 Covid-19 claims have been registered by the general insurers with an estimated claim of Rs 1,290 crore. The average claim amount works out to be Rs 159,456," an industry official told IANS.

The number of Covid-19 cases in the country by the same date was around 1.6 million.

The number of claims settled by insurers as on July 31 is 52,880 and the claim amount paid, around Rs 490 crore. Thus, the average is Rs 92,660 per claim.

According to the industry official, the initial claim estimate is always different from the final settlement. "The initial estimates and the actual claims settled always vary," said the official.

At 35,200, Maharashtra accounts for the largest number of claims with an estimated claim amount of Rs 442 crore. The number of claims settled was 23,285 and the average claims paid, Rs 69,500.

In Delhi, the average claims paid was around Rs 126,900 and for Tamil Nadu, Rs 100,400.

Nevertheless, the average Covid-19 claims paid is below Rs 150,000, whereas there have been complaints of hospitals charging exorbitant rates.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu government temporarily barred a city-based hospital from admitting Covid-19 patients following complaints of over-charging. The hospital had charged a patient around Rs 12 lakh on the grounds that he was in the intensive care unit for 19 days and also had other complications.