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Delhi HC asks IRDA to consider insurance claims of Covid patients who couldn’t get hospital beds
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Thursday said that several people were not able to avail the benefit of the insurance policies during the second wave of the pandemic as they did not get hospital beds, “not due to their fault, but for the dearth of infrastructure”
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Thursday said that several people were not able to avail the benefit of the insurance policies during the second wave of the pandemic as they did not get hospital beds, “not due to their fault, but for the dearth of infrastructure”.
A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh, while noting that thousands of patients had to take treatment at home, asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to consider such cases and see whether the insurance claim can be given to the insurers.
“It’s a matter of common knowledge and we can take judicial notice at the same time that for about 3-4 weeks when the current wave of pandemic was at its height, there was acute shortage of hospital beds, not only in NCT of Delhi but all over the country. People suffering from Covid-19 requiring hospital were not getting beds much less ICU beds and those with ventilators. Thus thousands of patients had to take treatment at home and make arrangements at home.”
“The insurance policies issued by several insurance companies which have been in existence do not cover claims unless the insurer is a hospital. It appears that it is only the Corona kavach policy which has been introduced as a standard policy. However, a large number of insured people would not be able to receive any benefit under the insurance policies held by them only because they did not get hospitalization for no fault of theirs, but for the dearth of infrastructure,” the court noted in its order.
According to the insurance companies, the claims could be made on their policies, only if they are hospitalized for at least 24 hours.
The bench also noted a submission by central government standing counsel Amit Mahajn who said that several people who have been paying premiums for years but did not get the insurance premium. Petitioner lawyer Rakesh Malhotra also told the court that he could not avail the insurance claims because he was discharged 23 hours later than the stipulated time to avail the benefit.
“It seems unfair if somebody is paying insurance for 20 years but when he actually wants it... Now IRDA has come up with a new policy which is a good thing covering home care also,” the court noted even as the insurance companies were not doing charity but also making money.
During the hearing, advocate Abhishek Nanda, appearing for the IRDA, told the court that they have introduced four new policies the first among them being the Corona Kawach policy which is a common policy which is mandatory for all the companies to issue it. He said that these were short term policies issued for specific months.
He submitted that Corona Rakshak has been also issued by IRDA but it’s not mandatory for all the insurance companies to issue. He informed the court that more than 31 lakhs insurance policies have been sold.
However, the bench did not seem impressed with the figures and said, “If you consider the population of this Country, this isn’t enough…. We feel it’s a very minuscule number”.
It also questioned the provision of the Corona Kavach policy that covered only the age group of 18-65. “The data which we have shows that people who are above 65 are more prone to covid. You’re excluding these people. How does it help then?” the court questioned.
“The way to go about it is to increase the age from 18 to 65 and cross subsidise. Increase the policy above 65,” it added. It asked the IRDA to consider this aspect and posted the matter for further hearing on July 14.
The court was hearing a plea by lawyer-petitioner Rakesh Malhotra, who along with other petitioners, had sought directions to the Centre and the Delhi government for better facilities and continuous supply of oxygen in the hospitals and nursing homes of the city.
