Monkeypox will be covered under your insurance policy, says expert

As India reported its first case of Monkeypox on Thursday, there are questions relating to insurance coverage of the disease. Whether the disease will get covered under a health insurance policy? Will it get covered under travel insurance? Insurance expert says that it will be covered under your insurance policies provided you have opted for it. 

"In the wake of first monkeypox case reported in India, it is important to remember that all infectious diseases, including monkeypox, are covered under basic health insurance policy. If a person is diagnosed thereby hospitalized, then it will be covered under individual health insurance policy,” says Rakesh Jain, CEO of Reliance General Insurance. 

The first case is reported in Kerala, where an individual travelling from UAE was found positive for the virus. Kerala Health Minister Veena George said, “A Monkeypox positive case is reported. He is a traveller from UAE. He reached the state on 12th July. He reached Trivandrum airport and all the steps are being taken as per the guidelines issued by WHO and ICMR.”

Does a travel insurance policy cover the disease? “If someone is travelling abroad, then it is imperative to note that some travel policies only cover accidental death and accidental hospitalization. Medical hospitalization is not included in those policies. Customers should opt for the medical expense feature in their travel policies to ensure that all emergency medical costs such as hospitalization, outpatient and cashless hospitalization will be covered during an international trip. Treatments taken for monkeypox during a foreign trip are covered in travel insurance under the Medical Expense feature to the extent of sum insured limits or sub-limits. Co-habitation, nonetheless, is usually not included in the policy cover. It is, therefore, advisable to go through the policy features and exclusions in detail and choose the right add-ons to ensure adequate coverage," Jain added.

As of June 22, a cumulative total of 3, 413 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported to WHO from different countries. According to the WHO website, the majority of laboratory-confirmed cases (2933/3413; 86%) were reported from the WHO European Region. Other regions reporting cases include: the African Region (73/3413, 2%), Region of the Americas (381/3413, 11%), Eastern Mediterranean Region (15/3413,

Also Read: Forex reserves fall $8.062 bn to $580.252 bn

Also Read: Maharashtra: Monsoon session of state legislature postponed