COVID-19 insurance claims to date total $37m

Insurers in India have received more than 18,100 claims for an amount of $37.1m for the treatment of COVID-19 so far.

According to a report published in the Indian financial daily Financial Express the number of claims in Maharashtra state is 8,950, the highest in the country. Delhi National Capital Region had 3,470 insurance claims for treatment of COVID-19 as on 19 June. These two regions are still the COVID-19 hotspots in the country.

The average claim size for COVID-19 treatment is $2,640 in urban areas and $660 in semi-urban or rural areas. If the patient has been admitted to the intensive care unit, the claims are in the range of $8,000.

The report quotes insurers that the amount claimed has not been very high relative to the number of persons hospitalised, because in many states like Kerala and Telangana, large number of patients have been treated in government hospitals free of charge.

As per the industry data on 1 June there were only 5,600 claims for treatment of COVID-19 and the total amount claimed was $9.25m which had worked out to $1,650 per policyholder on average.

Source: Asia Insurance Review