Life insurers extend assistance for Covid-19 vaccination effects

It includes reimbursement of medical bills for Covid-19 patients and post-virus vaccination support

by NUR HANANI AZMAN / pic by TMR FILE

A MAJORITY of life insurance companies in the country are extending financial assistance to their policyholders who may develop side effects or complications resulting in hospitalisation from the Covid-19 vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

Life Insurance Association of Malaysia CEO Mark O’Dell said the coverage includes hospitalisation costs due to the side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“However, the financial assistance is subject to the terms and conditions as different insurance companies may have different terms and conditions.

“A number of life insurance companies are also offering cash relief programmes for the side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine under their respective Covid-19 vaccine fund or medical assistance programme,” he said in a statement.

The assistance includes reimbursement of medical bills for Covid-19 patients from RM5,000 to RM20,000, and post-Covid-19 vaccination support of up to RM5,000 for hospitalisation due to vaccine side effects.

Medical assistance of up to RM5,000 per claim; special death benefits of RM7,500; hospitalisation income of RM200 per day for seven days; and RM10,000 death benefit which occurs within 30 days from vaccination are also included in the assistance.

The aid also offers RM500 cash relief for hospitalisation due to adverse effects from immunisation within seven days after receiving the vaccine.

“We urge all Malaysians to play their part in this Covid-19 battle by registering themselves for the immunisation programme via MySejahtera application.

“Policyholders are also advised to contact their insurance company directly to find out more about the assistance offered in the event they may develop side effects from the Covid-19 vaccination,” said O’Dell.

For the past one year, the insurance and takaful industry has played an important role in implementing various relief measures including the set-up of the RM8 million Covid-19 Test Fund (CTF) in March 2020.

Since the third wave of the pandemic, the CTF eligibility criteria have been extended to include asymptomatic patients and hospital admissions due to emergency and semi-emergency surgeries.

In response to the continuously evolving situation, Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd enhanced its Covid coverage to provide the right level of benefits over a broader population and over a longer period of time.

For example, Prudential Malaysia customers, who have been diagnosed and hospitalised with Covid-19, would receive a RM1,000 cash relief and RM10,000 upon death.

Its CEO Gan Leong Hin (picture) said that they are providing further Covid-19 assistance to their customers by offering hospitalisation reimbursement as well as coverage for any adverse effects from the Covid-19 vaccination.

“For customers who require hospitalisation at any Ministry of Health designated private hospital due to Covid-19, Prudential will offer up to a RM20,000 reimbursement for hospitalisation claims. Furthermore, all customers are entitled to a RM500 cash relief for hospitalisation in Malaysia due to serious adverse effect(s) from immunisation after receiving the Covid-19 vaccination.

“Throughout all of this, we regularly communicate with our agents through internal circulars, emails and briefings to help them understand the various initiatives and coverage offered for customers,” he told The Malaysian Reserve in an email reply.

Prudential Malaysia also produces materials for its agents to share with their customers.

Gan said the materials outlining the coverage benefits are WhatsApp friendly and available in the form of flyers.

“We encourage our agents to promote Pulse as a source of credible information on Covid-19 and other health topics, and also share the features available (such as) online doctor consultation and artificial intelligence symptom checker that help people access relevant health aids during the pandemic,” he added.

Read our previous report here