COVID-19 insurance: Muthoot Finance, Kotak Mahindra General Insurance join hands - Details of the offer

In a major development, Muthoot Finance on Monday said it has tied up with Kotak Mahindra General Insurance to offer COVID-19 insurance cover of up to Rs 1 lakh against the gold loan. Muthoot Finance Ayush Gold Loan is an exclusive initiative of Muthoot Group through which they will provide complimentary COVID-19 insurance cover to their eligible customers, it said in a release. This cover, however, will be available only for the customers availing gold loan under the Super Loan scheme, it added.

"As a part of our ongoing customer loyalty programme and social commitment, we are providing the customers insurance coverage with an objective to build confidence and help move ahead in life without any fear," Muthoot Finance Managing Director George Alexander Muthoot said.

Jagjeet Singh Siddhu, EVP & Head, Multi-channel distribution, Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company said offering such insurance product is extremely relevant in these times. 

Meanwhile, the total number of tests for detection of COVID-19 has crossed the 3 crore mark in India, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data. A total of 3,00,41,400 samples have been tested until August 16 with 7,31,697 samples being tested on Sunday, the ICMR said. "Focussing on timely and aggressive testing, India has exceeded 3 crore tests," the Health Ministry tweeted on Monday.

The total number of tests for detection of COVID-19 had crossed the 1 crore mark in India on July 6, while the 2 crore mark was crossed by August 2. Having started with one laboratory at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and then expanding to 100 laboratories around the beginning of the lockdown, the ICMR on June 23 validated the 1,000th testing lab. Total labs in the country testing for COVID-19 now stand at 1,470 -- 969 government labs and 501 private labs, according to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 26,47,663 on Monday with a single-day spike of 57,981 infections, while the death toll crossed the 50,000 mark with 941 fresh fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The recoveries surged to 19,19,842, pushing the recovery rate to 72.51 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.