Do Insurers Have COVID-19 Covered?

If you contract the virus and spend weeks in the hospital, you may come home to a hefty bill.
Even if money is tight, now is not the time to drop your health insurance coverage.

People who have Employer-Sponsored Insurance (ESI) might want to lower deductibles or pick
a plan with better coverage when their open enrollment period opens.

Those who lost their jobs during the pandemic should do everything possible to maintain adequate coverage. While every policy purchased through the exchange is different, the coronavirus should be covered.

Keep in mind that while your insurance will cover the virus and any related healthcare costs,
such as a hospital stay, you will still have to pay any deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and
any other fees such as out-of-network charges.

Even people who are generally healthy might want to take a second look at their health insurance coverage – particularly if they have a high deductible that they couldn’t afford if they fell seriously ill.

As of now, health insurance doesn’t exclude coronavirus sufferers from coverage. Not much is
known about the lifelong health consequences of having COVID, but under the ACA insurers
cannot refuse to cover pre-existing conditions if you have to buy a policy on the exchange in the
future.

If you contract the virus and spend weeks in the hospital, you may come home to a hefty bill.
Even if money is tight, now is not the time to drop your health insurance coverage.

One of the first industries impacted by the coronavirus was the travel industry.

Passengers had to quarantine on cruise ships.

Travelers in other countries worried about getting home when countries went on lockdown.

And many families had to cancel their spring break plans.

For those who’d purchased travel insurance , it came in handy. Travel insurance covers;

If COVID-19 delayed or cancelled a flight home, leading to an expensive hotel bill, travel insurance probably covered some of the cost. With an average cost of 4% to 8% of the trip’s total, travel insurance paid off for some vacationers.

Unfortunately, some travel insurance policies already excluded pandemics, or canceling a trip just because you were afraid to travel. Some travelers discovered that their policy doesn’t cover:

The insurance industry has responded quickly to the pandemic, and some insurers now sell travel insurance policies that specifically cover the coronavirus. If you’re ready to travel again, contact an agent to find out more about these special policies. Or, purchase through an agent and have them explain what your policy does and doesn’t cover.

The life insurance industry has seen a surge in applications during the pandemic – and it’s no wonder. The pandemic has forced families who’ve been putting off buying a policy to think about how their family would cope if they were gone. Luckily, the industry has also made it easier to obtain a policy.

With stay-at-home orders and quarantines, many insurers have pivoted to offering no-exam policies. Even before the pandemic, people who didn’t fall into high-risk categories could buy simple policies without an exam.

If you’re young, healthy, and have no underlying medical conditions, you could buy a policy for as little as a dollar a day.

If you need a higher level of coverage – a payout above a million dollars, for example – insurers used to require medical exams. At the moment, they’re allowing you to buy a temporary policy until it’s safe to go into a Doctor’s office and get an exam. Temporary policies provide coverage for 60 to 90 days. Or, they’re looking at your medical records and health history for coverage and underwriting decisions.

Insurers cannot make changes to existing policies. If you bought your policy before the pandemic, it will payout at the limits you previously chose. Just make sure that you keep paying your premiums so that coverage doesn’t lapse.

But that doesn’t mean you should just shrug and move on with your life. If it’s been a while since you bought your life insurance policy, now may be the time to look at it for changes.

Bought a new house? Would your old policy’s payout cover your new mortgage? Maybe you’ve had another child and need to add them as a beneficiary. Existing life insurance policyholders could benefit from speaking with an agent about current coverage needs, even if expanding their policy led to slightly higher premiums.

Buying a life insurance policy specifically due to COVID19? Beware of exclusionary riders.

A rider is a clause tacked onto your main policy. Exclusionary riders list circumstances where your primary life insurance policy will not payout. Ask if your insurer includes coronavirus or complications from coronavirus in exclusionary riders before buying a new policy.

How does auto insurance apply to COVID19? Many drivers are working from home or only going into the office on a staggered schedule. You may be getting your groceries delivered instead of risking a trip to the store. Regardless, you’re putting fewer miles on your car.

While it’s not advisable to drop auto insurance completely – even sitting in your garage, you’ll want a policy to protect from damage – you could reduce your premiums by increasing your deductible. Or, now might be the time to switch to a policy that offers low-mileage discounts

At first, you might not think that coronavirus had any impact on your auto insurance.

But the virus has changed how many of us conduct our daily lives. If you’ve had your pay cut or hours reduced, you could save money on auto insurance premiums right now by increasing your deductible. There’s less risk to this approach if you’re driving less.

Talk to your insurance agent about ways to save money on auto insurance during the pandemic.

Different types of business insurance may protect small business owners during the pandemic, but it will depend on the policy you purchased pre-pandemic. Business interruption insurance will reimburse a business for losses related to business interruptions. Liability coverage would pay out if, for example, someone contracted COVID-19 on your premises and filed a lawsuit against you.

A commercial all-risk property insurance policy or clause kicks in if there is physical loss, or physical damage, to your property or that of a supplier or customer on whom your business relies.

“Business interruption” refers to a direct loss, whereas “contingent business interruption” refers to loss contingent on a supplier.

If you own this type of policy, it could apply if the pandemic caused physical loss or damage such as food inventory that spoiled due to a forced closure. Unfortunately, there has been turmoil in the industry over restaurants filing claims related to pandemic closures under these policies. Insurers have denied claims and lawsuits have been filed.

How business interruption insurance applies to businesses who suffered during the pandemic is unclear. Lack of clarity has led to claims being denied, and small business owners who don’t know if they can even file a claim. This is an area where a great agent can help you interpret your existing policy, help you file a claim, and set expectations for its likely success.s

Unless your policy had riders for business income losses due to infectious or communicable disease, it could exclude losses indirectly related to the virus. If you want to purchase business insurance now, an agent can help you select the appropriate coverage amounts and make sure your new policy protects from pandemic-related losses.

An umbrella insurance policy provides additional liability coverage for times when your auto or homeowners insurance wouldn’t apply. When you are liable, you are at fault in an incident. This could be an auto accident where you run a stop sign, or when someone trips on a staircase at your home and breaks their arm.

Liability policies pay the other party’s medical bills or help you with legal bills if they sue.

The state of Arizona recently increased the minimum liability coverage that it requires drivers to carry, protecting the other driver if you’re at-fault in an accident. Umbrella insurance protects you, and your children, from liability in other instances.

With kids going back to school, or participating in sports, again, many parents have started looking into umbrella policies. Umbrella policies cover; personal injury, bodily injury, and property damage.

How does umbrella insurance relate to COVID19? If your child left a rude or defamatory comment in their online classroom’s chat, and another parent sued, your umbrella policy would pay the legal fees. Once back at school, giving the virus to another child could result in a lawsuit.

Let’s say your teenager had a house party while you were out of town and several of the kids contracted COVID. Unfortunately, we live in a litigious society. If one of the sick children’s parents sued you for damages, you’d be glad you had an umbrella policy.

Parents cannot control the behavior of older children away at college, either. If your sophomore engages in risky behavior which results in virus transmission, your family’s umbrella policy might not apply. Consider purchasing a policy specifically for them if they’re away from home.

In addition to offering coverage that protects you from the adverse effects of COVID19, there’s another way that insurers need to cover their policyholders. Claims management and payouts.

Insurance works by pooling risk.

Many people pay into the risk pool and their premiums cover the occasional payout.

Insurers have to closely track their liquidity – cash on hand and ability to access to cash – as it relates to their ability to payout claims.

Experts are predicting that the pandemic will impact the insurance industry negatively. They’re predicting increased claims and litigation at a time when there are lower cash inflows due to cancelled policies or people taking action to lower their premiums.

But insurers are, by their nature, cautious. They’re already taken action to conserve capital by canceling dividend payouts to shareholders, raising money through issuing bonds, and pausing stock buybacks. All of these actions conserve and generate more capital.

If you have concerns about your insurance company’s liquidity, work with established companies and agencies like InsuranceProAz. InsuranceProAz has been in business over 15 years, and works with only top tier insurers to find you the best policies. Our agents are still working during the pandemic to help you get the coverage you need. Call today for a quote.