A senior industry official preferring anonymity said the industry got totally about 11.05 lakh COVID-19 claims amounting to about Rs 15,570 cr since the pandemic broke out in India last year.

It is learnt the average amount per claim is about Rs 1,40,085, while the average payout per claim is Rs 95,777.

The total payout made by the non-life insurers towards COVID-19 claims is about Rs 8,900 crore. Citing the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s direction to insures to authorise cashless treatment within an hour of the request with necessary papers from the hospital, the official said it is going to be a tall order to meet. This given the work from home scenario with hurdles like fast net connectivity and power cuts, hitting claims processing work.