Committee to be formed to pay insurance money to COVID-19 positive

Kathmandu, Sept. 6

Stakeholders have agreed to form a committee to make the insurance payment to the people who were tested positive for COVID-19 in the PCR tests conducted in the private hospitals and labs.

A meeting of the stakeholders organised by the Insurance Board on Sunday agreed to form a committee led by an executive director of the IB to look into the matter and investigate the insurance claims made by the people who were tested positive for coronavirus in private laboratories.

"We have reached an agreement that the claims made on the basis of the reports of the labs and hospitals that are not functioning under the Ministry of Health and Population would be settled as per the recommendations of the committee," said the IB.

Insurance claims would be cleared as per the recommendations of the committee.

Representatives of the IB, Nepal Insurers' Association, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Confederation of Nepalese Industries had attended the meeting.

The meeting had discussed about the earlier decision of the board which said that in order to claim the insurance money they must produce the PCR test certificate issued by the government health institutions. The decision has drawn widespread criticism from the insurers, private sector as well as civil society.

It was unfair to deny the PCR test from the private labs which were allowed by the Health Ministry to conduct the tests, they said.

The meeting has agreed to clear the insurance claims made with the PCR test reports issued by the government-run health institutions up to Sunday, August 6 within a week from now, said the CNI in a statement.

The committee can also study the situation and recommendations to amend the COVID-19 Insurance Guidelines, 2020 to determine the underwriting process for the insurance companies in the pretext of the government permission to the private health institution to conduct the PCR test.

Until the guidelines are amended, insured people will be requested to undergo another PCR test in the government labs to obtain the insurance money, as per the policy.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 7 September 2020.