Hospitalisation Costs For Vaccine After-Effects To Be Covered Under Existing Policy

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has clarified that the existing health insurance policy will cover the cost of hospitalisation in case of adverse reactions to the Covid-19 vaccination.

The IRDAI clarification comes after several reports raised questions on whether the adverse reactions of Covid-19 vaccination that may require hospitalisation would be covered by a health insurance policy or not.

"It is clarified that in the unlikely event of hospitalisation following an adverse reaction to covid-19 vaccination, hospitalisation is covered under the health insurance policies subject to the specific terms and conditions of the policy," the IRDAI said in its press release.

"If the policyholder is hospitalised due to some vaccine and if there is an active health insurance policy available it has to be covered. This is an emergency case," says S Prakash, MD, Star Health and Allied Insurance. 

The clarification has been welcomed by the insurance industry which they expect would also boost the total number of vaccinated people in India.

"This is a very customer-centric move and will even encourage more and more people to take vaccine shots before worrying about the after-effects which are hardly any,” said Amit Chhabra, Head- Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com.

As the after-effects of the Covid-19 vaccine would be considered as a regular ailment by insurers, the procedure to register a claim would also be the same as in the case of regular ailments.

"IRDAI has always been at the forefront of protecting people’s health by mandating several changes that drive the industry forward. The idea of covering one’s hospitalisation cost in case of adverse Covid-19 vaccination reaction is a much-appreciated step," says Dr. Bhabatosh Mishra, Director of Underwriting, Products, and Claims at Max Bupa Health Insurance. "A person can follow a simple claim filing process to get the expenses reimbursed."