The Coronavirus pandemic has proven to humankind that something as primitive as a single-celled viral organism can bring the entire humanity to a halt. Something which is not visible to humans with the naked eye can kill millions within a few days and can get exponentially more lethal.
People across the world have been running pillar to post, looking for a cure or a vaccine. There is a race to get any drug that would reduce the impact of what the novel coronavirus has unleashed onto us.
The threat of future pandemics
The ongoing outbreak has also brought a shocking fact to life that humans may have ignored until now. Many such outbreaks could threaten the existence of life in the future, and we might not be completely ready to deal with it. Many such epidemics have broken out in the past when a similar virus called SARS-CoV, called SARS broke out in China in 2002.
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was very much like the novel coronavirus but could be brought under control with less than 7,000 deaths. Another similar virus MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) broke out in Saudi Arabia, which threatened humankind.
Business leader and philanthropist Bill Gates have been a proponent of preparing for viral pandemics that are waiting for us in the future. Gates’ sponsored Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested more than $12 million in a bid to develop a universal flu vaccine.
The threat of future pandemics is genuine.
The threat of a COVID-19 infection
Millions continue to be at risk until a vaccine or a cure is found. While many countries have started lifting lockdown to deal with the economic blow of the pandemic, the deadly virus is not stopping its mutation.
People need protection from the virus more than ever. While masks, sanitizers and social distancing do help prevent the infection, they do not guarantee absolute security. What if you or someone in your family does get the virus? What do you do when the Government hospitals are shot, and there are no beds in Government hospitals? Do private hospitals remain your only hope? Will hospitals take care of my loved ones?
These are some of the questions that echo during a pandemic.
For the fortunate people who can afford it, a private hospital admission will be comfortable and will require less stress work than getting into a hospital funded by the State. It can cost you a bomb if you don’t have an appropriate insurance plan that offers extensive coverage.
Buying a pandemic-proof insurance policy can be an investment that you can count on for years to come. And we tell you how to choose one.
1. Health Insurance Policy should cover hospitalization charges.
While zeroing in on an insurance policy after some rounds of comparison, be sure that it covers a viral treatment including coronavirus. The chances are most health insurance plans would cover illnesses caused by this troublesome virus. However, it doesn’t hurt to read the fine print of the insurance policy before legally signing it is essential. Rest assured that all hospitalization, admission, and treatment charges are taken care of under your insurance policy.
2. Term insurance should cover pandemic-related deaths.
Insurance companies have said that any death due to the coronavirus pandemic is treated like any other death. Hence, the beneficiaries will be entitled to receive the sum assured as the term insurance policy of the deceased.
While this holds right now, if you’re contemplating buying new term insurance, make sure that your policy mentions covering deaths due to any pandemic, and not just due to a virus. The best part is the fact that term insurance transforms into an affordable alternative instead of life insurance.
Hence, you can be assured that your insurer will cover your untimely death due to an epidemic.
3. The insurance cover should be sizable enough.
If you’re someone who is fit and has no health issues, you might have thought you do not need an insurance policy. Until coronavirus happened, you immediately got in touch with an insurance agent for a plan.
While you’re on the correct path, there is one thing you need to ensure. While buying a new insurance policy in the middle of a pandemic, go for one which has a higher cover. Do not think about your current fitness and opt for one, which gives you lesser coverage. Opt for one with high coverage.
You never know if you or all the members of your family might need it. For such a case, it is better to have an insurance policy with high coverage to cover the hospital expenses of your entire family.
Healthcare during a pandemic is anything but cheap.
4. The policy should cover senior citizens.
Many insurers are opting to not offer new insurance policies to senior citizens or those above the age of 60. People in such an age group generally present with co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, asthma among many others.
So if you’re buying a new policy, make sure that it covers senior citizens and people beyond the age of 60. Also, ensure that the same coverage is entitled when treating illnesses due to a global health emergency crisis like the one we are facing right now. This will cover the expenses of your parents or the elderly. Eventually, this will help you when you cross the age of 60 and if there is a pandemic-like crisis.
5. The policy should cover quarantine expenses.
Less than half of the coronavirus cases right now require hospitalization. However, almost all of them need to be quarantined. If you’re suspected of having the virus but have not tested, the chances are that you will be quarantined for a minimum number of days based on your location. You will have to undergo mandatory quarantine even if you’re returning from some other place.
Hence, it is essential and ideal to choose a policy which covers at least 50% of your quarantine expenses, so you don’t burn a hole in your pocket while the uncertainty of a virus looms over your head.
No one knows the uncertainty a post-COVID world holds. No one even knows if another pandemic like this will strike humanity again or not. Given how the world is falling apart, there are no guarantees. But you can definitely secure your finances by getting a pandemic-proof health insurance policy and term insurance should something like this ever happen again.
About The Author
Shriya Garg is the founder of ContentNinja, who always happens to go back to her roots as a finance professional. Being good with numbers, she loves educating her team members on personal finance, investment, and other things they don’t teach at school.
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