While the country is fighting the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, insurers are battling the increasing quantum of claims arising out of it.

The total claims registered with the insurers, mainly general and standalone health cover players, have reached a whopping ₹350 crore already, according to sources.

With about 7.2 lakh cases in the country as of now, the claims are pouring in on the insurers.

“Though this has been one of the fears for the industry right from the beginning, it has now come true. ₹350 crore is a huge amount and we are looking at our books as to how to deal with it,” a top executive of a private general insurance company told BusinessLine on the condition of anonymity.

Our enquiries with few insurers revealed that there has been a surge in claims in the last 45 days.

“The spatial distribution of claims is in sync with the cities where we are witnessing rapid increase in numbers,” said a source adding that the customer base as shown by claims is showing an urban tilt given the relatively higher penetration of health insurance in cities.

With over 21,000 deaths so far, even life insurers are not immune from the corona effect.

More to come

A managing director of a private life insurance company said the initial concern for the industry was likely disruption in premium payment due to the impact of the lockdown and job-losses.

“But now, we need to worry over increasing claims ratio too, and nothing is predictable on the pandemic as of now,” he said.

With more and more cover options being made available to shield people from adverse financial impact of contracting the virus coupled with steady increase in number of cases, insures are worried over the financial hit they might take in the days to come.

It is learnt that the regulator IRDAI is also keeping a close tab on the quantum of claims and its financial impact on the insurance companies.

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