Category Archives: Health & Safety

Insurers Help Victims Find Freedom from Domestic Violence Through Financial Empowerment

October 20, 2020 Maria Sassian Leave a comment

COVID-19 Could Further Impact Intimate Partner Violence Survivors

By Loretta Worters, Vice President – Media Relations, Triple-I

Financial security and access to resources can make all the difference to domestic violence victims when deciding to leave an abusive relationship. And insurance is an important component of financial planning that can help survivors move forward.

Financial abuse is a common tactic used by abusers to gain power and control in a relationship. The forms of financial abuse may be subtle or explicit, but in in general, include tactics to conceal information, limit the victim’s access to assets, or reduce accessibility to the family finances. Financial abuse – along with emotional, physical, and sexual abuse – includes behaviors to intentionally manipulate, intimidate, and threaten the victim in order to entrap that person in the relationship. In some cases, financial abuse is present throughout the relationship and in other cases financial abuse becomes present when the survivor is attempting to leave or has left the relationship.

Repercussions from the pandemic – layoffs, loss of income, living with abusers due to stay-at-home orders, restricted travel and closures of key community resources – are likely to dramatically increase the incidence of domestic violence, which may further hamper a victim from leaving an abusive situation.

Survivors struggling to get back on their feet may also be forced to return to their abuser. That’s why it’s so important survivors understand how insurance works and what a critical role it can play in gaining financial freedom and economic self-sufficiency.

In support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the I.I.I. offers financial strategies to protect victims before and after leaving an abusive relationship. They include securing financial records, knowing where the victim stands financially, building a financial safety net, making necessary changes to their insurance policies and maintaining good credit.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) reports that 10 million people are physically abused by an intimate partner each year, and 20,000 calls are placed to domestic violence hotlines each day. In addition, 85 percent of women who leave an abusive relationship return because of their economic dependence on their abusers. Furthermore, the degree of women’s economic dependence on an abuser is associated with the severity of the abuse they suffer.

“Home is often times a dangerous place for survivors of domestic violence, and COVID-19 exacerbates the circumstances, due to the abusers’ ability to further control,” said Ruth Glenn, president and CEO of the NCADV. “Tactics abusers use include ruining the credit of their victim as well as financial and digital abuse, such as stimulus funds being co-opted by abusers to an increase in domestic online harassment,” she said.

Experts agree that domestic online harassment can come in many forms, from impersonating a victim by email in order to sabotage her work, to controlling the influx of information about the pandemic to make her more fearful and reliant on the abuser.

The Allstate Foundation’s domestic violence initiative has been committed to ending domestic violence through financial empowerment, providing survivors with the education and resources needed to achieve their potential again and equip young people with the information and confidence they need to help prevent unhealthy relationships before they start. This year the Foundation contributed $500,000 to help the National Network to End Domestic Violence support more than 100 local domestic violence organizations. The Foundation also provided funding for the National Domestic Violence Hotline to enable remote-working technology and has worked with these organizations who are urging Congress to pass a COVID-19 relief package that addresses the housing, economic, physical and mental health needs of survivors of domestic and sexual violence and the advocates on the frontlines that need additional resources to ensure the safety of survivors and their staff.

“One of the most powerful methods of keeping a survivor trapped in an abusive relationship is not being able to support themselves financially,” Glenn explained. “That’s why insurance and financial education are so important,” she said. “Education can save a life.”

Catastrophes, Disaster Preparedness, Health & Safety

Deaths Resulting from Louisiana Hurricanes Underscore Need for Personal Power Generator Safety Awareness

October 13, 2020 Maria Sassian Leave a comment

By James Ballot, Senior Advisor, Strategic Communications, Triple-I

On October 1, Hurricane Delta hit Louisiana as a Cat. 2 storm, cutting power to almost 700,000 residents and causing further setbacks to people in that region who were still recovering from Hurricane Laura, the Cat. 4 storm that ravaged the region in late August.

Residents in hurricane-prone regions commonly rely on emergency power generators to aid in recovery from storms and other catastrophes. Nevertheless, many home and businessowners lack knowledge and training to safely run these devices: of the more than 30 lives lost to Laura and Delta nearly one-third were caused by fires or carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning due to improper use of emergency power generators.

If you own a generator or are considering purchasing one as part of your emergency preparedness planning, the Triple-I encourages you to follow guidance put forth by the Center for Disease Control, State Farm, Travelers and other reliable sources, including:

Never leave a generator running when you are away from your home or business and check generators regularly during operation.
Use generators (and gas-powered equipment) at least 20 feet away from doors, windows and vents—and maintain a clear space of three to four feet on all sides and above the generator to allow for proper ventilation.
Always have working carbon monoxide (CO) detectors and smoke alarms in your home
Do not try to refuel a generator while it is running.

William Davis, the Triple-I’s Georgia Media Relations Director adds, “Before a storm knocks out electricity, generator owners need to learn how to use them safely. Generators can be life savers in time of need, but they can also be killers!”

Health & Safety

Is COVID-19 covered by disability insurance?

September 28, 2020 Maria Sassian Leave a comment

Many people are wondering if disability insurance will cover them if they come down with COVID-19. The answer, as is often the case, is a qualified yes.

There are basically three types of disability income insurance: Employer-paid disability insurance, Social Security disability benefits and individual disability income insurance policies.

Short-term disability insurance may cover coronavirus if your illness requires medical quarantine that leaves you unable to complete your work.

For disability coverage to apply “there has to be a medical reason you can’t work” according to Nicholas Mancuso, manager of the disability and advanced planning team at Policygenius. Social quarantines, such as when states mandate that people work from home, do not qualify you for disability benefits.

Some survivors of COVID-19 are reporting lingering symptoms, including fatigue, joint pain, and shortness of breath. These people may be eligible for long-term disability.

“It’s generally more difficult to qualify for long-term disability benefits with the coronavirus because of elimination periods for long-term policies,” said Mancuso.

The elimination period of a disability insurance policy is how long you must be unable to work — for medical reasons — before you can start receiving benefits. Long-term disability policies have elimination periods of at least 90 days.

Employer-paid disability insurance is required in most states, and so is the most common. Most employers provide some short-term sick leave. Many larger employers provide short-term and long-term disability coverage as well, typically with benefits of up to 60 percent of salary lasting from five years to age 65. In some cases, long-term disability insurance is extended for life. Disability benefits from employer paid policies are subject to income tax.

However, individual disability income insurance policies are the best way to ensure adequate income in the event of disability for most workers, even those with some employer-paid coverage. When you buy a private disability income policy, you can expect to replace from 50 percent to 70 percent of income. Insurers won’t replace all your income because they want you to have an incentive to return to work. However, when you pay the premiums yourself, disability benefits are not taxed.

But unfortunately not many people have individual disability income insurance. More than half of U.S. workers forego disability coverage, according to a recent study. And baby boomers, who are more likely to get injured or sick, are even more likely to forego the coverage (7 out of 10).

If you are 40 years old, you have about a 40 percent chance that between now and age 65 you’ll be disabled for 90 days or more for any reason. Injury accounts for 10-15 percent of the reasons why people have long-term disability. Illness is the other 85-90 percent. And if you are disabled for 90 days or more, there is about a 50 percent chance that you’ll continue to be disabled for up to two years, according to Triple-I’s chief economist Dr. Steven Weisbart.

Health & Safety, Workers Compensation

New CDC Numbers Raise Concern for Health, Workers Comp Insurers

September 25, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

*Between June and August, the CDC says, COVID-19 was most prevalent in people between the ages of 20 and 29.*

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week provided new data on the spread of COVID-19 that diverges sharply from past reports and is something health and workers compensation insurance providers will want to incorporate into their claims projections.

In its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC says that between June and August the virus was most prevalent in people between the ages of 20 and 29, accounting for more than 20 percent of all confirmed cases. It went on to say that “across the southern United States in June 2020, increases in percentage of positive [COVID-19] test results among adults aged 20-39 years preceded increases among those aged ≥60 years” by between four and 15 days.

Most of the workforce

“This has profound implications for claims made against health insurance and workers comp,” says Dr. Steven N. Weisbart, CLU, Triple-I’s senior vice president and chief economist. “Early in the pandemic, COVID-19 was most common among adults age 70 or older – people who are mostly retired. Now, the CDC says, more than 50 percent of confirmed cases during the referenced period were among people between 20 and 49. This is the segment of the population that makes up most of the workforce and tends to have health and life insurance.”

They also are the most mobile portion of the population, more likely than the elderly and infirm to spread the infection to co-workers, friends, and family before they know they have it.

Indicating how significant the shift has been, Weisbart points out that in May the most affected age group was still 80 and older, with a case incidence of 4.04 per 1,000 population. In August the most affected age group was 20-29 (case incidence: 4.17 per 1,000).

“By August,” Weisbart says, “the case incidence of the 80-plus group was down to 2.61 per 1,000.”

Expanded workers comp coverage

The ultimate impact of the pandemic on workers compensation is still not clear. It generally doesn’t cover illnesses like a cold or flu because they can’t be tied to the workplace. Before the pandemic, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) says, at least 18 states had policies that presumed firefighters’ and other first responders’ chronic lung or respiratory illnesses are work-related and therefore covered.

Since the pandemic, some states have extended coverage to include health care workers and other essential employees. A common approach is to amend state policy so COVID-19 infections in certain workers are presumed to be work related. This puts the burden on the employer and insurer to prove the infection was not work-related, making it easier for workers to file successful claims.

Health & Safety, Workers Compensation

Wrap-up: COVID-19 and Workers Comp

July 17, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

Lauded for their service and hailed as heroes, essential workers who become infected with the coronavirus on the job have no guarantee in most states that they’ll qualify for workers compensation to cover lost wages and medical care, Associated Press reports.

Fewer than one-third of the states have enacted policies that shift the burden of proof for coverage of job-related COVID-19 so workers like first responders and nurses don’t have to show they got sick by reporting for a risky assignment.

And for most employees going back to job sites as the economy reopens, there’s even less protection than for essential workers. In nearly all states, they have to prove they got the virus on the job to qualify for workers comp.

Workers comp is not health insurance, or an unemployment benefit. In exchange for coverage, workers give up the right to sue their employers for job-related harms. Employers pay premiums to support the system. Complex rules differ from state to state.

Dealing with job-related injuries is fairly straightforward, but diseases have always been trickier for workers’ comp, and COVID-19 seems to be in a class of its own.

“You don’t know per se where you inhaled that breath whereby you became infected,” said Bill Smith, president of the Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group, a professional association of lawyers representing workers.

Read more:

Families of health workers killed by COVID-19 fight for denied workers comp benefits (Philadelphia Inquirer, July 16, 2020)

Workers comp in the new world of the COVID-19 pandemic (Law.com, July 16, 2020)

Report: Sharp drop in California workers’ comp premiums expected from COVID-19 (Insurance Journal, July 14, 2020)

Business Insurance, Health & Safety, Insurers and the Economy, Legal Environment, Workers Compensation

Gauging Pandemic’s Impact on Insurers

June 30, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

While COVID-19’s impact on the insurance industry will require time to fully understand, litigation, legislation, and concerns about pricing and policy language will be with us for some time to come.

“Significant” changes in policy language seen

The majority of respondents to an Artemis re/insurance market survey believe the COVID-19 pandemic will result in “significant changes” to business interruption (BI) policy wordings.

In fact, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is conducting a review focused on obtaining legal clarity on policies connected to the pandemic and which claims are valid and which aren’t.

FCA’s Interim CEO Chris Woolard said recently that while some BI policies are paying out for virus-related issues, others remain “within dispute” due to ambiguities in their wordings.

Outside of the 67.6% who stated a belief that COVID-19 will drive “significant changes” in BI policy wordings, 21.6% expect a “moderate amount” of change, while the remaining 10.8% said the effect will be “limited.”

Loss estimates vary

The Artemis survey also shows 67% of respondents expect the industry to face between $80 billion and $100 billion of underwriting losses due to the pandemic. This is roughly in line with Lloyd’s of London’s earlier estimate of a $107 billion global industry impact.

But analysts from investment bank Berenberg said they believe global COVID-19 claims will be more manageable, estimating a range from $50 billion to $70 billion for the total bill. The analysts don’t specify whether this includes both life and non-life insurance claims from the pandemic, but they do point to the estimate from Lloyd’s of London as being too high.

“We estimate $50-70bn for global COVID-19 claims,” Berenberg’s analysts state. “Significantly less than the $107bn estimate reported by the Lloyd’s of London market estimate on 14 May.”

Las Vegas Hospitality Union Sues Employers

Las Vegas Culinary Workers Union Local 226 is suing several employers on the Las Vegas strip over unsafe working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, Business Insurance reported.

The union, representing 60,000 workers, said in a statement it is asking for injunctive relief under the Labor-Management Relations Act based on the “hazardous working conditions” workers face.

The lawsuit alleges casino hotels have not protected workers, their families, and their community from the spread of COVID-19 and that current rules and procedures in place for responding to workers contracting COVID-19 have been “wholly and dangerously inadequate.”

The Culinary Union made a number of requests for policy changes, including daily cleaning of guest rooms, mandatory testing of all employees for COVID-19 before returning to work and regular testing thereafter, adequate personal protective equipment for workers, and a requirement that guests wear face masks in all public areas.

Best Warning on COVID-19 Workers’ Comp Laws

Insurance rating agency A.M. Best has warned that legal efforts in several U.S. states to expand workers’ compensation coverage to allow employees to claim for COVID-19 will have a negative impact on re/insurers, Reinsurance News reports.

The crisis has resulted in many employees now working from home, but a significant part of the workforce still needs to be present and public facing, and this is the group new state laws aim to support. For these workers, some states are looking to shift the burden to the insurer to prove that an employee contracting COVID-19 did not do so while on the job.

“This shift in the burden of proof could lead to significant additional losses to a segment already under pressure and result in increased reserve estimates and higher combined ratios,” A.M. Best said.

Given that assumptions used in pricing and actual loss emergence diverge significantly, these legislative changes will result in an increase in loss estimates and could affect earnings.

Businesses Ask Patrons to Waive Right to Sue

As businesses reopen across the U.S. after coronavirus shutdowns, many are requiring customers and workers to sign forms saying they won’t sue if they catch COVID-19, Associated Press reported.

Businesses fear they could be the target of litigation, even if they adhere to safety precautions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials. But workers’ rights groups say the forms force employees to sign away their rights should they get sick.

So far, at least six states — Utah, North Carolina, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Alabama — have such limits through legislation or executive orders, and others are considering them. Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are lobbying for national liability protections.

Auto Insurance, Business Insurance, Business Risk, Health & Safety, Insurers and the Economy, Legal Environment, Regulation, Risk Management, Workers Compensation

CORONAVIRUS WRAP-UP: PROPERTY AND CASUALTY (4/27/2020)

April 27, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

Accounting Rules

NAIC Working Group Approves Flexible COVID-19 Accounting Rules

Automobile Insurance

How the Coronavirus Could Change U.S. Personal Auto Insurance

Business Interruption

Travelers, Insured Law Firm Spar Over Civil Authority Business Income Loss Claim

States Seek to Force Insurance Companies to Pay Those With Business Interruption Policies

Covid-19 Business Interruption Existential Threat, Reinsurance Capital Availability Key: Willis Re

Credit Insurance

Governments should backstop trade credit

Litigation

The Race Is on to Lead Business Interruption Insurance Litigation

What Won’t Cure Corona: Lawsuits

6 Types Of Employment Lawsuits To Expect In The Wake Of COVID-19

Editorial: Stopping a Lawsuit Epidemic

Kudlow: Businesses shouldn’t be held liable for employees and customers getting coronavirus

Corporate America Seeks Legal Protection for When Coronavirus Lockedowns Lift

Profits & Losses

Coronavirus Costs Weigh on Travelers’ Profit

Coronavirus Will Be Largest Event in Insurance History, Says Chubb CEO

Coronavirus To Be Largest Industry Loss Ever: Chubb’s Greenberg & Lloyd’s Neal

Covid-19 P&C Insurance Industry Loss Estimated $40bn – $80bn: Dowling

Chubb Classifies Covid-19 as a Catastrophe Event

Covid-19 Claims Manageable, But Reinsurers Face Formidable Challenges: Willis Re

Specialty Lines

Companies Can Expect Higher D&O Rates, Lower Limits: Experts

Lack of Adequate Insurance Puts Healthcare Workers At Risk of Malpractice Lawsuits

Workers Compensation

States Easing Path to Workers Compensation Benefits for Coronavirus Workers

Changing Virus Guidance Creates Balancing Act For Essential Employers

Employers Pushing Back as States Expand Work Comp to Cover COVID-19

Workplace Safety For COVID-19 Essential Workers

From the Triple-I Blog:

TRIPLE-I CEO AMONG PANELISTS DISCUSSING BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE LEGISLATION

INSURERS RESPOND TO COVID-19 (4/24/2020)

CORONAVIRUS WRAP-UP: LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE (4/22/2020)

CORONAVIRUS WRAP-UP: DATA AND VISUALIZATIONS (4/20/2020)

Health & Safety, Insurance Industry, Life Insurance

Coronavirus wrap-up: life and health insurance (4/22/2020)

April 22, 2020 Maria Sassian Leave a comment

Health insurance

Buying health insurance? What to know during the coronavirus pandemic

Care providers may need $100B more as industry faces further COVID-19 losses

What to Do if You Can’t Pay for Insurance Due to Coronavirus

Health Insurance Rates Could Be Weirdly Stable: Actuaries

How Will COVID-19 Affect the Health Care Economy?

Life insurance

Certain US life insurers suspend senior applications

Consumers Looking To Buy Life Insurance

More States Mandating Forgiveness On Life Insurance Premiums

Implications of coronavirus for North American life and annuities writers

What an Annuity Giant Is Telling Investors About COVID-19 Risk

Business Risk, Health & Safety, Insurers and the Economy, Market Conditions

CORONAVIRUS WRAP-UP: Data and Visualizations (4/20/2020)

April 20, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

The coronavirus crisis continues to generate data that can be valuable for understanding and decision making. Below are just a few resources that may be of interest to insurers and the people and businesses they serve.

COVID-19 Mortality Projections for U.S. States

Graphs from the University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium show reported and projected deaths per day across the United States and for individual states.

The Verisk COVID-19 Projection Tool

The Verisk COVID-19 Projection Tool has been made available to enhanceunderstanding of the potential number of worldwide COVID-19 infections and deaths. It provides an interactive dashboard that leverages the AIR Pandemic Model.

How State Insurance Departments Are Responding to COVID-19

This interactive map from PC360 highlights bulletins and procedures released by state insurance departments as of April 15, 2020.

Tracking U.S. Small and Medium Business Sentiment During COVID-19

Small and medium-size businesses account for roughly 44% of the U.S. economy and provide employment to about 59 million people. McKinsey is tracking their sentiment to gauge how their views on economic activity, employment, and financial behavior—as well as their expectations about financial institutions and public authorities—change as a result of ongoing public and private interventions.