Insurance companies have performed reasonably well in supporting the public during the pandemic, an official with the Social Security Organization of Iran said.
"Insurers have been covering a considerable portion of the medical costs of people infected with Covid-19, including paying for the medicine listed by the Ministry of Health…They have also started paying for the PCR tests," Shahram Ghaffari, health director of SSO was quoted as saying.
As the human cost of Covid continues to rise, the virus is also taking a heavy toll on the economy and imposed huge expenses on the families with infected members.
Iraj Harirchi, deputy health minister, last week said that more than two million people had to pay hefty bills to medical centers last year mostly for medical treatment related to the coronavirus. "This pushed more than 612,000 people into poverty."
Data released by the Central Insurance company of Iran indicates a sharp increase in medical insurance payout in recent months.
More than 25 million Iranians have medical insurance that also makes them eligible for pension.
Medical insurance accounted for 36% of total payouts reaching 54 trillion rials ($200 million), up 69% on the same period last year. The money was paid for 15.2 million cases, 19.9% higher than the same period a year ago. Medical insurance claims accounted for 94.12% or 14.3 million of total claims, up 21.2%.
Medical insurance was the second major source of premium income. Companies sold 262,600 medical insurance policies, making 56.7 trillion rials ($210m) in the four months. The number of policies sold showed an annual growth of 199%, whereas growth in premium income of this segment was 23.3%.
Obliging Hospitals
Insurance firms are struggling to minimize the seemingly unending negative impact of the plague on their businesses. Several companies have extended cover to include a part of hospital bills of the insured afflicted by the virus.
However, insurers are trying to make a positive impression on their customers who often complain about the policies and practices of mainly private hospitals in demanding full payment of bills and refusing to deal with the bureaucracy of insurance companies.
Recently they made an agreement with the Health Ministry to compel private hospitals to admit patients infected with the coronavirus, following reports about hospitals' refusal to admit patients who are members of the state and semi-state insurance organizations.
As per law, insurance companies are obliged to pay 10% of their revenue from third-party auto insurance -- the category with the highest share in insurance companies' portfolio -- to the Health Ministry.
The sector paid 6.6 trillion rials ($28m) to medical centers affiliated to the Ministry of Health to help them overcome financial constraints created by the virus.
