TLI Staff
New Delhi: Faced with dwindling sales due to Coronavirus, Delhi-based traders’ group has appealed the government to provide insurance cover for its members.
Delhi-based Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) wants insurance companies to introduce insurance coverage for disruptions in business due to Coronavirus and has urged the government to issue necessary directions to the sector regulator for the same.
“The insurance companies may be mandated to introduce ‘Disruptions due to Coronavirus’ as an additional cover to Fire and Materials Damage policies and the existing policyholders may be offered an option to add ‘Disruptions due to Coronavirus’ to their Fire or Materials Damage cover,” CAIT has said in a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that Coronavirus outbreak has been taken as a grave health hazard by the government and as a result several precautionary measures have been taken to close down educational institutions, cinema halls, gym and other service oriented trade and both trade & MSME sector is likely to have negative economic impact.
He said that this would lead to closure of establishment, disruptions in supplies and cancellation of events.
Khandelwal further said that traders and shopkeepers come in contact with many clients daily and are exposed to higher risks of contacting Coronavirus. Therefore, insurance companies should introduce need-based policies like the covers against mosquito disease or vector borne diseases which will provide for hospitalization expenses due to Coronavirus or fixed benefits upon diagnosis of Coronavirus.
The trade body Chief said that at present only one such product has been introduced and having multiple options will help traders and businesses choose from options suited to their higher-order requirements.