Your health policy and Omicron: What you need to know

Posted by amrina alshaikh on February 16th, 2022

Though the purported third wave of the Coronavirus pandemic was milder than the second, the Omicron variant continues to pose problems for healthcare systems all over the world. The highly infectious nature of the variants has seen widespread transmission in a very short span of time made not just healthcare systems and Governments scramble to contain its spread, but also citizens like us that hold health insurance policies.

But while the medical world grapples with various Omicron facts and questions about how to contain the virus and whether a new vaccine is needed for it, you need to re-evaluate your health insurance policy to see if it covers the Omicron variant as well.

Your health plan: Are you Omicron-ready?

It is now the time to check your existing health plan to see if it offers coverage for COVID-19. If it does, then it offers coverage against different strains and variants, too – this is mandated by the IRDAI and if your policy does not follow this norm, then you should port to a different provider.

• The IRDAI stipulates that the Omicron strain cannot be viewed as a new disease or an infection in isolation. It is considered to a new form of COVID-19. Thus, if the existing health insurance plan covers the novel Coronavirus, it covers the Omicron variant as well.
• The health coverage is also extended to any other future variants of COVID-19 as well.
• Further, indemnity policies should cover hospitalisation for infectious diseases including COVID-19. The coverage is to be offered and extended in full, irrespective of the variant of the virus one has contracted.
• If you have dedicated Coronavirus policies like the Corona Kavach or Corona Rakshak, then they also automatically cover different COVID-19 strains. The base terms i.e. the occurrence of COVID-19 is the important factor. The insurer should not concern themselves with the particular strain or variant of COVID-19.

How to make your health plan is Omicron-ready

• Assess your current health coverage/sum insured. Is it adequate to meet the expenses for COVID-19 if you and/or your family members contract the virus? If not, you must increase the coverage on the primary health plan at the time of policy renewal.
• You can buy a super top up plan if the coverage on your primary health plan is inadequate to meet COVID-19 expenses. The super top up plan offers coverage against multiple hospitalisations for the insured and their included family members, in the same year. This is helpful in case there is an outbreak of the Coronavirus in the household and more than one family member contracts it and/or requires hospitalisation for it.
• Basically, the sum assured on the plan must fulfil all the requirements, from hospitalisation to treatment of the Omicron variant, and from medication to post-treatment health conditions. Do remember that the virus is expensive to treat if it is of a severe intensity when the patient is detected with the infection.
• Getting a comprehensive health insurance policy is ideal if you want coverage against a host of diseases and not just the COVID-19 and its variants.
• You can also invest in dedicated Coronavirus health insurance plans. These also cover expenses incurred for home quarantine and at-home treatment if the virus is of moderate to severe intensity and the patient cannot be shifted to a hospital. This option is better for those who do not wish to use their primary health insurance policy to treat the novel Coronavirus.