Three insurance firms are offering coverage for those infected by the Zika virus, which has made its way to Malaysian shores. Great Eastern Life Assurance Bhd, Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd and AIA Bhd, but all three do not cover microcephaly in babies, a defect believed caused by the virus, as it is a congenital condition.
The coverage provided by all three firms will be subject to the claims limits of a policyholder’s respective plan.
Great Eastern’s Zika insurance policy covers hospitalisation expenses, including for pregnant women who test positive for the virus, as well as death benefits for those who die of the virus, as long as it fulfilled the definition in the policy contract.
In the case of Prudential, policyholders of plans such as PRUvalue med or life insurance plans with death and Total Permanent Disability (TPD) benefits would be covered, including hospitalisation and surgical expenses. Prudential added that hospitalisation and surgical expenses for pregnant women diagnosed with Zika will also be covered, so long as requirements and conditions in their policy contracts were met. It added that parents with babies born with minimal cases of microcephaly may still be able to sign-up for an insurance plan, with applications being assessed on a case-by-case basis.
AIA covers policyholder that contracted Zika but would only receive treatment on an outpatient basis. Under the AIA medical plan will receive hospitalisation coverage for Zika, while those who took certain personal accident plans would be covered for medical costs or deaths arising from the virus. AIA medical plans cover any customer, including pregnant women, who are hospitalised due to the Zika virus but did not have plans to cover pregnancy risks and complications that may arise as a result of Zika.
None of the three companies have however yet to receive any claims arising from the Zika virus.
Since Sept 1, seven cases of Zika have been reported nationwide. Some 163 people have shown symptoms of the virus, but have tested negative.
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