India life insurers received $2.17b in COVID-19 claims

Data revealed that death claims rose dramatically in 2021.

India’s life insurance companies received over $2.17b in COVID-19 claims, according to a report by Business Today.

Citing data provided by the Life Insurance Council insurance firms received around 2,18,084 COVID claims. 2021 also saw a drastic rise in death claims.

According to Rushabh Gandhi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at IndiaFirst Life, during the second wave, all insurance companies observed a multifold increase in the death claims under COVID and Non-Covid categories. 

“All claims in which death was confirmed due to Covid 19 basis the medical documents and/or hospital records, were considered as COVID claims. A positive RT-PCR & RAT test and subsequent death is also considered as Covid death,” Gandhi said.

IndiaFirst Life also observed a rise in death claims during the same time. In FY2022, the firm settled around 4785 individual life death claims of which 845 death claims were directly attributed to COVID-19.