September 6: The Insurance Board has been dragged into controversy for  not recognizing the report of PCR tests carried out by private labs at a time when Covid-19 cases are rising.

There is a provision for compensating a person who tests positive for coronavirus if the infected person makes insurance claims. However, the board has courted controversy after it said that it recognizes only the tests conducted by government labs. Following the decision of the board, insurance companies have stopped compensating the claimants. The individuals who have purchased insurance policy have not been able to benefit from the policy.

The insurance policy announced on April 19 states that the individual can claim for compensation by presenting report of PCR test conducted at government labs. At that time, the government had not given permission to private labs to conduct PCR tests. But currently 13 private labs are providing the service after the government gave them permission to conduct the tests.

The Insurance Board should have amended the policy announced on April 19. However, the insurance companies have not compensated the beneficiaries due to the failure of the board to recognize the tests carried out by private labs.