Why you should buy Arogya Sanjeevani Policy

Arogya Sanjeevani Policy is a product designed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for the consumer with a standard set of tenets. The features of the plan will be exactly the same offered across all insurers. The policy is very well designed and has all the features which are offered in a regular health insurance plan.

Since all the companies will have the same product, therefore, the judgment regarding which plan to buy now falls in the consumer’s lap. Consumers will decide on the basis of the company they trust with the claim, service and price of the product. It is also going to give a big boost for the fence-sitters who weren’t buying insurance. In addition to it, the COVID-19 outbreak has woken up the masses to buy an insurance plan. The amount of money we spend on health care in India is very low.

Arogya Sanjeevani policy covers all the basic necessities of health insurance and 35-50% cheaper than the standard plans available in the market. There are a few limitations as some features which are offered in the regular health insurance plans are not covered under Arogya Sanjeevani Policy but they aren’t as important as the whole cover itself. Also, the sum insured offered by Arogya Sanjeevani policy is less for an urban citizen who should have a cover of at least Rs 10 lacs but the product will evolve over a period of time. It is a great product and will be in the consumer’s interest to buy because they won’t need to understand one feature over the other. This product should de-clutter the whole environment.

COVERAGE FOR COVID-19 TREATMENT
Whether it is Arogya Sanjeevani or any other indemnity based policy, it will cover a consumer for COVID-19 treatment or any other disease which requires hospitalization. All health insurance plans have hospitalization treatment benefits. If you buy a plan having sum insured between Rs 1-5 lacs, and get hospitalized, then pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization will be covered. Hospitalization expenses will also be covered up to the sum insured. Every health insurance policy has the same covers available.

Since, COVID-19 is not a pre-existing disease (PED), it will be covered under all health insurance plans. The only limitation is if anybody who has just bought health insurance and has a PED, there could be a waiting period which is generally in between 2-4 years and that depends on your policy. However, if you bought a health insurance policy and are not suffering from Coronavirus, then it will cover your treatment for COVID-19.

PRICING OF THE HEALTH COVER
The premium ranges anywhere from Rs 5,000-12,000 depending on how many people are covered. The premium will be about 32% cheaper under the Arogya Sanjeevani policy than its counterpart on any other plan of the sum insured Rs 4-5 lacs for a 30 years old adult.

The pricing is fairer and lower because there are a few limitations. The policy has a 5% co-payment and there is a capping on the room rent of about 2% of the sum insured which isn’t there in other plans. There will be a few health care benefits that come with other plans that would not be present in Arogya Sanjeevani policy, however, these aren’t very serious benefits for which you shouldn’t buy this policy. There aren’t any deductibles in the plan. It covers everything from AYUSH to cataract surgery up to a certain limit and pre and post-hospitalization expenses.

Clarifying the recent notification by Ministry of Finance on the extension of renewal dates of motor insurance policies amidst lockdown, Mathur says that if your third-party car insurance policy, is expiring anywhere between March 25-April 14, which is the lockdown period, then you do have the ability to pay your third party insurance premium till April 21. There are two components of a car insurance policy — own damage and the third party.

Own damage component covers any damage caused to your vehicle occurring due to an accident or due to any natural calamity whereas the third-party cover covers liability for injuries and damages to others for which you are responsible. There are standalone third party insurance plans also available. The extension has been given for third party auto insurance only. You will have to renew comprehensive policies before expiry.