Companies that provide health insurance services in the UAE have confirmed their commitment to provide the necessary medical support in accordance with the terms of the insurance policies they issue to customers, unless exceptions to some documents stipulate otherwise.
As it was published on the Emirati newspaper Al-Ru’ya website, it stated that these exceptions are officially considered the virus an epidemic, which is currently excluded, as some insurance documents expressly state that the document does not compensate for epidemic treatments sponsored by the state or any other party.
In detail, the partner and CEO of Cogent Reinsurance Brokerage Company, Dr. Hazem Al-Mady, stated that the insurance policy is supposed to cover medical services to deal with the Corona virus in the beginning, as it is a type of bronchitis.
He pointed out that some documents state that epidemics are not included in the coverage, and some other documents mention in the table of exceptions that it is forbidden to compensate for the expenses of treating a disease guaranteed by the state or any other parties, and if this is not mentioned, the insurance company is obliged to provide coverage.
He continued, “The insurance refusal to compensate for treatment can be done if the insurance policy includes an explicit clause stipulating that there is no compensation for a disease guaranteed by the state in the event that the state declares that it is an epidemic, and it is the one who undertakes it.”
In the same context, the General Manager of Middle East Partners Insurance Consulting, Musa Al-Shawaheen, confirmed that the disease is considered to be included in all insurance coverage, unless the disease spreads on a large scale and is considered an epidemic by the World Health Organization.
He explained that epidemiological diseases are usually excluded from coverage in insurance policies, but so far, there is nothing that allows insurance companies to refuse coverage, because Corona is a type of infection.
For his part, the Director of the Medical Insurance Department of a local company, who preferred not to be named, stated that the disease in its official form at the global level is considered a type of infectious virus so far, and has not reached the stage of its classification as a pandemic, and therefore does not fall within the exceptions that are usually placed in documents Medical insurance, pointing out that insurance usually excludes epidemics, provided that it is officially announced.
1. Mr. Jill Dalton (Managing Member of Aon PLC Group for the United States) said that most of the losses related to the supply chain of American companies resulting from the Corona virus mostly will not be covered by business interruption documents because there must be material damage. However, there are some documents that provide coverage Very limited in the event of interruption of work, but the virus must be in the insured facility and not outside.
2. Mr. Peter Fallon (Vice President, Risk Strategies Co.) stated that there may be business interruption coverage, but it is an additional coverage on the policy that includes coverage for business interruption due to communicable or contagious diseases.
. Tye Childress (Director of Insurance Recovery Practices at Jones Day in Los Angeles) said emergency business interruption coverage may “depend on how the document is understood” — “some jurisdictions have held that an accident renders the facility unworkable, unusable or contaminated.” In one way or another, they are sufficient reasons for it to be considered a material loss and therefore it is covered.”
And in light of providing solutions to business interruptions caused by the Corona virus, an insurance company in the state of New Jersey has initiated proposals to provide limited coverage for business interruptions due to some measures taken by civil authorities to stop some businesses to avoid infection with the Corona virus, or to limit its spread.
Union saw
In conclusion, we find that it is a new challenge for insurance companies and an opportunity at the same time to develop and provide new insurance products that help reduce the losses caused by the Corona virus that affect the economies of countries.
Some believed that epidemic diseases such as the Corona virus are excluded from insurance policies of both medical and life types, and despite the World Health Organization’s classification of this virus as an epidemic, this was not an obstacle for some Egyptian insurance companies to provide the necessary insurance coverage for this virus.
In a monitoring carried out by the Habi Journal portal, three Egyptian insurance companies revealed their commitment to covering the Corona virus, in cases of illness and death, through the medical insurance policy and the life insurance policy.
At the outset, Ramah Asaad, Managing Director of the Egyptian Takaful Insurance Company – Hayat (GIG), says that his company’s coverage of the Corona virus in the event of death stems from its keenness on customers on an ongoing basis and with great care.
He added in a statement to the Hapy Journal portal, that there are agreements with reinsurance companies to allow coverage of this virus, although some companies consider it among the exceptions that are usually placed in medical insurance policies.
Ramah pointed out that his company achieved a 14% growth in the volume of premiums, and a 50% increase in profits during the first half of the current fiscal year, especially as it targets an installment portfolio of about 800 million pounds.
For his part, Charles Tawadros, Managing Director of Allianz Life Insurance, said that the company went to cover this virus insurance, adding, “Since this virus has been classified as an epidemic, then it will have a drug in successive periods.”
Tawadros wondered, what is the job of insurance companies if they cannot provide full protection to their customers? He stressed that the main role of insurance companies is to preserve the lives of customers and reduce the losses they are exposed to.
Tawadros added, in his statement to the Habi Journal portal, that Allianz seeks to enhance all its insurance services, especially as it targets 20% DP growth in all its insurance activities, after achieving a volume of premiums during the past year of about 3.12 billion pounds.
In the same direction, Hapy Journal learned that AXA Life Insurance Company also covers the Corona virus from a medical point of view, and Hapy Gateway tried to communicate with the company, but it was not answered by the company’s chairman.
Despite the high rate of spread of Corona locally and globally, and its negative repercussions on the economies of countries, the arrival of these companies to cover the virus was motivated and supported by the positive government decisions taken during the past days. The government measures were to suspend studies in schools and universities for a period of two weeks, and President Sisi directed the allocation of 100 billion pounds to finance the comprehensive plan to confront the emerging Corona virus. The government also decided to suspend all events that include any large gatherings of citizens. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced, during the past two days,
The new precautionary measures to contain the repercussions of the Corona virus, included the suspension of air traffic from 19 to 31 March.
The Prime Minister expected that this decision would cost national airlines about 2.25 billion pounds, in addition to other losses in the tourism sector.
The government tended to reduce the attendance of workers in government agencies, with the exception of a number of influential strategic sectors.
The government also issued a set of measures that support the Egyptian economy in a strong and effective way, and to deal with the repercussions of the Corona virus, on the other hand.
The decisions included reducing the price of natural gas for industry at $4.5 per million thermal units, reducing electricity prices for industry for ultra-high, high and medium voltages by 10 piasters, and stabilizing and not increasing electricity prices for other industrial uses for a period of 3-5 years.
The decisions included providing one billion pounds to exporters during the months of March and April 2020 to pay part of their dues, according to the agreed mechanisms, with an additional payment of 10% in cash to exporters next June.
With regard to the real estate tax, it was decided to postpone its payment due on factories and tourist facilities for a period of 3 months, in addition to lifting administrative reservations on all financiers who have a payable tax in return for paying 10% of the tax due on them and re-settling the files of these financiers through the dispute settlement committees.
With regard to the stock exchange, the Egyptian government has decided to reduce the stamp tax on non-residents to 1.25 per thousand and reduce the stamp tax on residents to 0.5 per thousand instead of 1.5 per thousand., while reducing the price of the capital gains distribution tax for companies listed in the stock exchange By 50% to become 5%. In addition to the full exemption for immediate operations on shares from
Stamp tax to activate the transaction volume.