With the number of confirmed coronavirus (Covid-19) infections rising daily and global sharemarkets swimming in a sea of red, the financial impact, if any, on insurance companies is yet to be determined.
As of Tuesday 10 March New Zealand has five confirmed cases of people with coronavirus. Around the world 113,000 people have been officially listed as having the virus, of those more than 62,000 have recovered, and almost 4,000 people have died.
Of course, these are the confirmed cases, countless others may have (or had) the virus and not been documented.
Although novel outbreaks such as this are built into reinsurance modelling and forecasts, RiskInfoNZ asked New Zealand’s major insurance retailers if anything has changed as a result of the virus.
It appears there is a mixed picture with Fidelity Life saying some new customers may have their life cover “postponed”.
At the moment it’s largely business as usual but obviously it’s an unfolding situation and we’re taking it very seriously…
Fidelity Life
Fidelity Life’s Chief Operations Officer Kath Johnson says: “We’re keeping a close watch on official travel advice.
“…if someone’s planning to visit a location where travel isn’t recommended due to coronavirus then, following consultation with our reinsurers, we may postpone putting cover in place.
“At the moment it’s largely business as usual but obviously it’s an unfolding situation and we’re taking it very seriously.”
Johnson says Fidelity Life doesn’t currently have a specific exclusion for coronavirus “…so our existing customers – regardless of which type of cover they have – can fully expect to be covered according to their policy’s terms and conditions”.
Partners Life
Senior Product Manager Mika Groenewald at Partners Life says given the pathology of Covid-19 the majority of clients will only suffer flu like symptoms and “…won’t ever meet the claims criteria as a result of the coronavirus”.
“I can confirm we don’t have any restrictions, exclusion or limitations in our policy wording which would specifically limit claims from this or other pandemics,” says Groenewald.
She says the firm is not adding any restrictions, exclusion or limitations to policy wordings or terms of new policies.
However, if someone has had coronavirus, we would hold off offering any type of cover until three months post recovery…
“However, if someone has had coronavirus, we would hold off offering any type of cover until three months post recovery,” says Groenewald.
“We will also be keeping a close eye on travel advice websites regarding people who are potentially travelling to countries where exposure is high. Depending on this, we may hold off offering cover to anyone travelling to these countries.”
AMP
A spokesperson for AMP Life says its customers should not be concerned about their life insurance policies.
“Claims are assessed against the terms and conditions of a customer’s policy…Our death insurance polices in almost all circumstances cover the insured for any cause of death, worldwide,” says the spokesperson.
“There are very limited exceptions where there are exclusions and customers would be notified of these as part of their policy documents.”
Customers can be assured that our insurance products do not contain any exclusions for pandemics…
AIA
AIA New Zealand says it is starting to field calls from customers asking about Covid-19 in relation to their policies.
“Customers can be assured that our insurance products do not contain any exclusions for pandemics, so as with any claim, policyholders would simply need to meet the eligibility criteria for the particular insurance benefits held through their policy,” says a company spokesperson.
“For any new insurance applications we receive, we will take into account in our assessment any proposed travel to countries where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has raised its advice level to ‘do not travel’ as a result of Covid-19.”
Asteron Life
A spokesperson for Asteron Life says if a policyholder were to pass away due to coronavirus then their family or estate would be entitled to make a claim under their policy.
The firm has introduced new questions to its insurance application process, asking all new applicants if they have had contact with the coronavirus; or have travelled to, from or transited, mainland China since 1 December 2019.
Cover will then be considered if a 14-day period has passed since the potential exposure…
“Following border advisories from the Ministry of Health, we are now asking new applicants if they have recently travelled, or intend to travel, to Iran, South Korea and Italy,” says a company spokesperson.”
Applicants who answer yes are referred to its underwriters for follow-up questions.
“Cover will then be considered if a 14-day period has passed since the potential exposure if no signs or symptoms of the virus are present in the person applying.”
Keep up to date with confirmed Covid-19 cases here.