Mumbai:
Amid the caronavirus pandemic, BharatPe, India’s largest merchant payment & lending network has partnered with ICICI Lombard to roll out 'COVID-19 Protection Insurance Cover' for shopkeepers.
It is a ‘first of its kind’sachet product by ICICI Lombard that will cover merchants and on a diagnosis of COVID-19 (+ve),the policy holder will paid be 100 per cent of the sum insured, irrespective of hospitalisation expenses.
The health cover is priced affordably at a premium starting at nominal amount of ₹ 199 and provides a sum insured for₹ 25,000 and value-added benefits such as Health Assistance and CHAT/Virtual assistance, teleconsultation and ambulance assistance, as part of the offering. The unique benefit of the COVID-19 Insurance Protection Cover is the coverage across the age group of 18-65 years.
On the introduction of the new COVID-19 insurance, Ashneer Grover, CEO & Co-Founder, BharatPe said, "Merchants’ well-being is our immediate focus, and as Coronavirus turns into a pandemic, we have designed a unique insurance cover with ICICI Lombard to provide financial support to merchants. Shopkeepers will get 100% of the opted Sum Insured as a lump sum in the event of the first diagnosis itself. The small businesses are the most affected financially and shopkeepers are at the most risk from risk of infection. The insurance is available on the BharatPe app and we hope to cover lakhs of our merchants digitally over next few days."
On the tie-up Sanjeev Mantri, executive director, ICICI Lombard said,“With the current threat on account of coronavirus pandemic, we have introduced a dedicated policy – Covid-19 Protection Insurance Cover. Further, our association with Bharat Pe enables us to reach out to their merchant base which could be vulnerable to the virus given their business activity.''
Earlier, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, had rolled out a focused ‘COVID-19 Protection Cover’ in a group insurance mode. The policy on diagnosis of COVID-19 (+ve)will pay100% of the sum insured irrespective of hospitalization expenses.
If a policyholder tests positive for COVID-19 at any of the government authorized centers, the company will pay out the entire sum insured, in a lump sum in the event of a first diagnosis of COVID-19 during the policy period,subject to an initial waiting period of 14 days.
The scope of cover shall be within the geographical boundaries of India and restricted to Indian nationals only.
The health cover is priced affordably at a premium of Rs149 and provides a sum insured of Rs. 25,000 includingvalue added benefits such as Health Assistance and CHAT/Virtual assistance, tele-consultation and ambulance assistance, as part of the offering.
Star Health and Allied Insurance has also launched ‘Star Novel Coronavirus Insurance Policy’, a benefit policy to cover all those who test positive for the current pandemic COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) and require hospitalisation.The policy does not have any international travel history related exclusions.
The Star Novel Coronavirus policy will provide a lump sum payment to any insured between age 18 years to 65 years, who is declared positive by a government accredited test and is hospitalised for the Coronavirus.
The Star Novel Coronavirus policy is available under two sum insured options of Rs 21,000 and Rs42,000 at premiums of Rs. 459 plus GST and Rs. 918 plus GST respectively. Anyone up to the age of 65 years can purchase the policy online at www.starhealth.in or through the company’s vast network of insurance agents, and without having to undergo any pre-medical screening.
The unique benefit of the COVID-19 protection cover is the coverage across of the age group of 18-75 years,covering the elderly population that is said to be majorly impacted by the virus.