The country recently experienced a serious scare in the form of the Ebola virus. In addition to causing a real fear in the masses in California and throughout the country because of the thought of an Ebola pandemic being on the horizon, it also caused some uncertainty in the business world, especially concerning Ebola’s effect on insurance lines.
Companies were a little bit worried about Ebola’s effect on insurance lines. A serious outbreak could have impacted a number of lines of insurance, including business interruption, supply chain disruption, workers’ compensation and general liability for California businesses. However, because the only Ebola cases within the country have been isolated cases, it’s difficult to determine how it will affect insurance coverage.
A press statement revealed that although an outbreak of Ebola was improbable, that the widespread transmission of the virus could result in an increase of claims. These claims could come in the form of workers’ compensation, healthcare coverage, life insurance payouts, contingent business interruption and even travel insurance.
According to the World Health Organization, there have been around 9,000 cases of Ebola, out of which there were 4,500 deaths. However, very few of those cases were reported outside of Africa. The chance of the Ebola virus spreading throughout countries that boast robust healthcare systems is incredibly low. California businesses in the retail, service and food industries should, however, check their policies just in case as there could be key policy exclusions that could apply, such as the pollution exclusion, the bacteria exclusion or the expected or intended exclusion. Businesses that should be concerned about the unlikely event of the virus spreading in terms of liability include those in the airline industry and medical provision industry.
This is a basic rundown of Ebola’s effect on insurance lines. Contact us at The Benefits Store for more information regarding our California health insurance services. Our brokers are available to assist you at no cost.
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