Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) in a press release on Wednesday (1 April) has said that the standard health insurance policy “Arogya Sanjeevani” for all 29 general/health insurance companies will now cover hospitalisation under Covid-19, reports Times of India.

The regulator further added in the circular that it has approved the Sanjeevani product for all 29 general/ health insurance companies.

It must be noted that the new standard health insurance policy, named Arogya Sanjeevani, was announced in January this year to provide a basic health cover between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. The purpose of this new policy, launched from 1 April 2020, is to clear the confusion among customers due to the existence of multiple insurance products launched by different insurance companies.

Under the scheme, the IRDAI also gives freedom to insurance companies to charge

the premium for the product. Currently, the cost of premium is roughly Rs 1,000 for every Rs 1 lakh of coverage.

IRDAI also added all current mediclaim policies in India will cover COVID-19 hospitalisation. Notably, the policy-documents of old schemes of general insurance companies exclude coverage of an epidemic. However, these policies will cover Covid-19, as per the instructions of the regulator.