Life insurance companies are insisting on a mandatory three-month wait period for people infected with the Covid virus and wanting to buy a term plan. Depending on the severity of infection and whether hospitalisation was required, companies are also demanding extra medical tests, including chest X-rays to offer a term plan for people who have no existing policies.
The trend, which started after the devastation caused by the second wave of the Covid 19 pandemic last year, is now a full-fledged policy for all insurance companies. People wanting to buy a term plan have to compulsorily fill a so-called Covid declaration form which, among other things, asks whether the insurance buyer was affected by the virus in the last 90 days. Further, test results are also called for depending on the severity of the infection.
Before Covid, 40-year-olds could easily get a ₹25 crore cover but now a ₹10 crore cover is the most available. For 50-year-olds, the cover would be even lower. The impact has also been seen in group medical insurance as companies are now avoiding mediclaim policies for senior citizens and parents of employees because of their high risk of comorbidities.
