Ebola, Will Your Insurance Pay?

The Ebola crisis is continuing apace and we work a lot with businesses whose operations rely heavily on an operational presence in areas of high risk, and specifically those offering ‘international employee benefits’ packages.

Duty of Care to Employees

Our attention has been drawn to the duty of care businesses have toward managing the health of its staff. There are clearly calls for restricting travel into locations of high risk, and additional screening requirements for those returning home from assignment, however what is still commonly the last question to be asked is – are we actually insured for this risk?

The cover of globally mobile or expatriate employees is already fraught with difficulty, as the sourcing of compliant cover is influenced by an insurer’s licensing capability in the country of contract as well as the locations and nationalities of individuals requiring cover. The accessibility to clients of insurers both compliant in providing cover and willing to insure any resulting claim for Ebola can therefore be difficult to tangibly define on a large scale.

However, being forewarned is forearmed and understanding now what your business is covered for can enable you to more proactively manage your employee queries as well as plan for how to manage risk exposures.

What to Ask Your Insurer

Questioning your insurer on a range of scenarios can give you a good measure for your risk exposures. In an employee benefits context, emphasis tends to centre around three key themes: 

• Treatment
• Evacuation
• Fatality.

Treatment

Will your insurance cover the diagnosis/treatment of Ebola? Insurers commonly exclude ‘experimental/unapproved’ drugs within their terms and conditions, and this may impact the potential.

Evacuation

Are evacuations possible from a high-risk area? Home and host country approval is now required prior to an evacuation being undertaken, so evacuation even in the case of a non-suspected Ebola – but medically necessary – case may face delays as a result. Ebola evacuations are not arranged by commercial organisations, but again decisions are put to the appropriate authorities in the home/host country for approval.

Fatality

Will your insurance pay for the death of an employee as a result of Ebola? Feedback reveals that many policies exclude Ebola as a condition, however a few have indicated review on a case-by-case basis, measured through the proximity to risk, industry and occupations of those requiring cover.

Of course each international insurer has a different compliance capability and attitude toward risk, so each policy and scenario should be reviewed on its own merits. As the situation evolves, so may the insurer’s view on their ability to cover the risk, with potential locations and occupations excluded from cover or premium loadings added for higher risk.

Regular monitoring is therefore high on the globally mobile employee benefits agenda for the foreseeable future, including assessment of updates regularly issued by many of the insurers.