#StartupsVsCovid19: PhonePe Brings Corona Care Insurance For INR 156

Digital payments platform PhonePe has launched a Corona Care insurance policy for those who have tested positive for Covid-19 and hospitalised. The company has tied up with its insurance partner Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

PhonePe founder and CEO Sameer Nigam said that most families do not have insurance cover, and the hospitalisation for coronavirus would turn out to be a financial burden. Therefore the company decided to come up with an affordable “product”, which has a premium of INR 156.

The Corona Care insurance policy provides a cover of INR 50K for people below 55 years of age. It will also take care of the expenses for one month on pre-hospitalisation and post-care medical treatment. The policy will be applicable to all hospitals offering treatment for Covid-19.

Customers can buy the insurance online through the My Money section in the PhonePe app. The process is said to take less than two minutes, and the company will issue the policy documents instantly. PhonePe has also removed any requirement of medical tests before getting the insurance to prevent people from stepping outside.

PhonePe made its entry into the insurance segment in January, focusing only on the travel segment. Gunjan Ghai, head of insurance at PhonePe, told Inc42 that the travel insurance market in India is estimated to be around INR 800-900 Cr. Since PhonePe is a mobile-based platform, it can deliver more, Ghai elaborated. The company provides insurance cover of $1 Mn, with the premium of INR 216.

As per a report in the Mint, there has been a spike in the insurance industry as the coronavirus scare is on a rise. Insurtech startup Policybazaar has noted a 20-30% hike in the health insurance policy and a 20% hike in life insurance.

Some other players working in this domain include Digit Insurance, Coverfox, RenewBuy and more. However, when it comes to direct competition, then the digital payments platform Paytm is also in the race. Digit was one of the first companies to launch a coronavirus-specific insurance policy.

Recently, Paytm got a brokerage license to enter the insurance sector more directly than before. Earlier, the company had a corporate licence which only allowed Paytm to sell policies on behalf of the insurance provider. With the brokerage license, Paytm can act as a broker (intermediaries) between prospective customers and providers.