Reported Covid-19 insurance claims at 192,863 worth over Rs 3,000 cr

As many as 121,739 claims settled by insurers so far, amounting to Rs 1,165.81 crore, revealed claims data of General Insurance Council

The exponential rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country has meant that the number of claims related to Covid-19has also risen for non-life insurers. However, the claim number is still very low, if compared with the total number of Covid-19 cases the country has seen, indicating the low level of health insurance penetration in the country. 

As of September 8, non-life insurers have received 192,863 claims, amounting to Rs 3,013.43 crore. Out of the total reported claims, as many as 121,739 claims have been settled by the insurers so far, amounting to Rs 1,165.81 crore, revealed claims data of General Insurance Council (GI Council), which is not publicly available. 

At the end of July 31, insurers had received 81,000 claims. So, the number of reported claims have doubled in a months’ time. Among states Maharashtra still leads in the number of reported and settled claims, followed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Delhi.

The number of claims are rising and are likely to pose problems for insurers going forward as they had not factored in the risk (Covid-19) before revising their product prices. However, a positive that has come out of this crisis is the fact that consumers are more willing to buy health covers to protect them from the uncertainties that the current pandemic might throw up. 

Within a month of launching standardised Covid-19 specific products, as many as 1.5 million lives have been covered. The regulator last month had launched two Covid-19 specific policies – Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak. Furthermore, the industry is seeing, for the first time, the health segment overtaking motor as the largest business in the general insurance space.