Positive report from govt lab must for coronavirus insurance claims

KATHMANDU: People who have insured against the coronavirus (COVID-19) must compulsorily submit a positive report from the government laboratory to the respective insurance companies to receive their claims if they have tested positive.

The Insurance Board has instructed the companies not to make payments if the reports are obtained from private laboratories.

The committee, on Thursday, sent a letter to the non-life insurance companies that have been providing insurance against the coronavirus, saying that they should make payments for claims for positive cases only if the PCR test report is obtained from a body under the Ministry of Health and Population.

Rajuraman Poudyal, executive director of the board, said that the latest direction for payments has been made as the number of people conducting the PCR test in private laboratories had increased in recent days.

“As the number of positive cases through tests done in private laboratories is higher than that from government laboratories, the previous payment modality has been amended,” Poudyal said.

He said that the companies have been informed again that the coronavirus insurance plan should not be fraudulent as many people who have tested positive through tests conducted in private laboratories have tested negative when conducted in the government laboratory.

The Corona Insurance Directive issued by the board states, “If the PCR test by a body under the Ministry of Health and Population of the Government of Nepal shows evidence of corona virus infection, the claim must be paid within seven days.”