Regular health insurance policies cover Covid-19, says Irdai chairman

IRDAI has received an overwhelming response to the Regulatory Sandbox initiative which is a mechanism created to foster innovation in insurance sector

The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (Irdai) has been offering various dispensations to both policyholders and insurance providers to combat the Covid-19 crisis. In an e-mail interview, Subhash Chandra Khuntia, chairman of Irdai, tells Namrata Acharya about some interventions and the road ahead. Edited excerpts:
 

How has the insurance sector tackled the crisis and what more needs to be done?
 

The Indian insurance industry has been able to organise itself quickly to tackle the unprecedented situation. During the lockdown, insurers were able to switch to ‘work from home’ via digital communication.
 

Irdai had issued advisories to insurers well before