Over `200 cr death claims paid for Covid warriors

▪„ 460 claims cleared for `50 lakh insurance cover

With increasing fatalities of health workers fighting Covid-19, the government has fast-tracked settlement of Covid death claims under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), which provides an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh to Covid frontline warriors.

India's largest non-life insurer, New India Assurance Company Ltd (NIACL), has so far settled 419 claims under the scheme, disbursing around Rs 210 crore to the claimants.

The PMGKP covers almost all healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, community health workers and even daily wage staff engaged in Covid duty. This scheme covers loss of life due to Covid-19 and accidental death in the line of duty. This is scheme managed solely by the NIACL, with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare paying the entire premium for over 22 lakh health workers covered under the scheme.

According to Atul Sahai, chairman and managing director of NIACL, "The NIACL has received over 1,100 claims intimations approximately, though only 600 claims were supported by the documents. Of this, we have paid a sum of Rs 209.5 crore for 419 claims as on the date, and 41 more claims stand approved awaiting either nomination documents or claimants' bank details. Some 140 claims have been turned down as the same were not covered under the policy, like the claimant wasn't a frontline healthcare worker or the death wasn't due to Corona."

"We have already received Rs 350 crore from the government in three tranches in the form of premium for the scheme so far. A total of 22.12 lakh health workers across the country are covered under the scheme by NIACL," Sahai added.

Though the claim documents were simple to access--like a laboratory test report and death summary by the hospital--getting them approved through the competent state authority was proving to be time-consuming. So, the government has from this month further simplified the claims procedure by routing them through the district collector. This is expected to improve the claim settlement ratio, which is now less than 55 per cent.

"Now, the government has decided to ease the claims procedure that was finalised between the concerned company and MoH&SW, and the district collectors have to verify that claim documents, counter verified by the state health nodal agencies in just one single page document. The documents shall remain carefully recorded at their office. It's a welcome step for speedy settlement of the claims," Sahai said.

However, health workers are concerned that the scheme does not cover death from post-Covid complications. Explaining, a senior doctor from Faridabad's Escort Heart Institute said, "Insurers now ask for all Covid-19 related documents immediately after the patient's death. So, there is no question of claim settlement from insurers if the patient dies of post-Covid19 complications. Besides, any type of treatment or quarantine cost is not covered."