ICICI Lombard allows insurance benefits for COVID-19 home treatment; to settle claims in 15 days

Mumbai: Largest private sector non-life insurer ICICI Lombard on Tuesday halved the waiting period for coronavirus-related claims to 15 days apart from announcing a host of offerings for its health indemnity customers in the light of the pandemic.

Also, customers can get themselves treated at their homes instead of having to avail hospitalisation to avail insurance claim. It also offers to give no claim bonus benefit to be maintained even in the event of hospitalisation for the pandemic on select policies.

This will significantly benefit those customers who wish to avail treatment for any ailment in their homes, rather than a hospital, thereby ensuring social distancing, the company said. The additional benefits and relaxations have been arrived at, keeping in mind the challenges faced by customers due to the pandemic and the associated restrictions, the company said in a note.

Waiting period on new policies has been reduced to 15 days (from 30 days earlier) for COVID-19-related inpatient claims, the insurer said, adding the lower waiting period comes without any hike in the premium.

The new lower claim settlement period applies to all health indemnity policies, including complete health insurance, health booster, healthcare plus and group plans.

Offering no claim bonus even in the case of a hospitalisation for the pandemic and subsequent claims, the company said the additional sum insured accrued in the policy will not be impacted, if the insured is hospitalised due to the pandemic, thus providing much-needed financial relief to customers.

The said benefit will be provided in ICICI Lombard’s complete health insurance and health booster plans, it said.

Sanjeev Mantri, the executive director at ICICI Lombard said, as the pandemic continues to throw new challenges, we thought it important to ensure that we effectively meet the emerging needs of our customers.

The additional benefits, offered at no extra cost, should enable our policyholders to derive maximum benefit from their health insurance cover, he added.