Well, not if the mosquito bit the insured person in the Republic of Mozambique, the Supreme Court held in a judgment.

Brief about the case:

• The case concerns about a man, who died of multiple organ failure after being diagnosed with encephalitis malaria contracted from a mosquito bite he sustained while working in Mozambique in 2012.
• His insurance policy covered personal accidents. Both the State and the National Consumer Dipsutes Redressal Commissions dismissed the plea made by the insurance company, National Insurance Limited, that the man died as a result of an infection. The company argued that a mosquito bite cannot be classified as a ‘personal accident’ covered under the policy.
• The insurance company, said death due to malaria was a common occurrence in Mozambique. According to the World Health Organisation’s World Malaria Report 2018, which showed that an estimated ten million cases of malaria in Mozambique and an estimated 14.7 thousand deaths in 2017.

Courts Stand:

• The National Commission too had agreed that if the insurance company could cover events like snake bite, frost bite and dog bite then why not mosquito bites.
• However, the mosquito bit in Mozambique, which according to World Health Organisation has a population of 29.6 million people and accounts for 5% of the cases of malaria globally.
• It is on record that one out of three people in Mozambique is afflicted with malaria. It was not a peril insured against in the policy of accident insurance.

Most Prominent Diseases caused by Mosquito Bites:

• Zika Virus Malaria
• West Nile virus
• Dengue fever
• Yellow fever
• Chikungunya

Malaria

• Malaria is a vector borne disease caused by parasitic protozoans belonging to the Plasmodium type. It is most commonly transmitted by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. According to the World Malaria Report 2016, India accounts for 89% of the incidence of malaria in the South-East Asia region.
• In India, malaria is caused by the parasites Plasmodium falciparum (Pf), found more in the forest areas and Plasmodium Vivax (Pv), more common in the plains.
• Most malaria cases are mainly concentrated in tribal and remote areas of the country.
• The majority of malaria reporting districts are in India’s eastern and central parts.
• Government has launched National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination.