Corona Kavach & Pandemic-Specific Products (Historical)
Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak were short-term COVID-19 products of 2020. They are history now, but they teach two lasting ideas: an ordinary health policy responds to an infectious disease, and indemnity cover differs from benefit-based cover.
What these products were
In mid-2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, two short-term health insurance products were introduced specifically for COVID-19: Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak. They were sold by insurers for a premium.
Both belong to the pandemic period and are not current products. Their detailed terms are of historical interest only, so this lesson does not dwell on their numbers.
Two designs side by side
Corona Kavach was indemnity-based. An indemnity policy reimburses the actual admissible expenses of treatment, up to the sum insured. The bill decides the payout, and the policyholder cannot receive more than was spent.
Corona Rakshak was benefit-based. A benefit-based policy pays a fixed amount stated in the policy when its conditions are met, whatever the bill. The payout is known in advance and does not depend on what the hospital charged.
The pair is a convenient way to remember a distinction that runs through all of health insurance, from hospitalisation policies (indemnity) to critical illness and many disease-specific plans (benefit).
The lasting point about ordinary policies
In March 2020, before the special products existed, IRDAI directed insurers to handle COVID-19 hospitalisation claims under existing health policies expeditiously, in the same way as other claims. The special products came later, in mid-2020.
The principle outlived the pandemic. A regular health policy that covers hospitalisation responds to an infectious disease as it does to other illnesses, subject to its terms. Hospitalisation for COVID-19 today is claimed under an ordinary health policy; no separate product is involved.
Illustration: the same illness under two designs
Take two imaginary policies, with figures assumed only to show the difference. Policy A is an indemnity cover with a sum insured of ₹3,00,000. Policy B is a benefit cover that pays a fixed ₹1,00,000 when its conditions are met.
A person with Policy A is hospitalised and the admissible bill is ₹1,40,000. Policy A pays ₹1,40,000, the actual admissible expense, because it is within the sum insured. Had the bill been ₹60,000, it would have paid ₹60,000.
A person with Policy B meets the policy's conditions. Policy B pays ₹1,00,000 whether the bill was ₹60,000 or ₹1,40,000. In the first case the payout exceeds the bill by ₹1,00,000 − ₹60,000 = ₹40,000; in the second it falls short by ₹1,40,000 − ₹1,00,000 = ₹40,000.
Key points
- Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak were short-term health products introduced in mid-2020 specifically for COVID-19.
- They are historical products, not current ones.
- Corona Kavach was indemnity-based: it reimbursed actual treatment expenses up to the sum insured.
- Corona Rakshak was benefit-based: it paid a fixed amount when its conditions were met.
- In March 2020 IRDAI directed insurers to handle COVID-19 hospitalisation claims under existing policies promptly, like other claims.
- An ordinary health policy responds to an infectious disease as to other illnesses, subject to its terms.
Common misunderstandings
- These are not products to look for today: they belonged to the pandemic period, and COVID-19 hospitalisation is claimed under an ordinary health policy.
- The two products were not the same thing under two names: one reimbursed expenses and the other paid a fixed amount.
- It is not the case that COVID-19 was covered only by the special products: the March 2020 direction concerned claims under existing health policies, before the special products were introduced.
- A benefit-based payout is not a reimbursement: it does not rise or fall with the hospital bill.
Questions people ask
Which of the two was the indemnity product?
Corona Kavach. Corona Rakshak was the benefit-based product.
Did a person need a COVID-19 product to claim for COVID-19 hospitalisation?
No. A regular health policy covering hospitalisation responded to it like other illnesses, subject to its terms, and IRDAI directed insurers in March 2020 to handle such claims promptly.
Why study products that are no longer sold?
For the two lasting lessons: how ordinary policies treat an infectious disease, and how indemnity and benefit designs differ.
What this lesson relies on
- IRDAI directions to insurers on COVID-19 claims (March 2020) and guidelines on the short-term COVID-19 products (2020) — historical
- IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business (29 May 2024)
This lesson was reviewed independently against these sources on 8 October 2026. Rules change: check the current regulation, scheme document or policy wording before relying on any figure. This is education, not advice.