Increasing anxiety over the Ebola scare has prompted many travelers to reassess their emergency medical coverage and businesses to reconsider sending employees overseas. Now, however, there is a specialized insurance product for businesses facing the possibility of government-mandated closure due to spread of Ebola.
Business interruption Ebola coverage was developed by
NAS Insurance Services in conjunction with Prospect Insurance Brokers Ltd and Ark Specialty Programs of Lloyd’s of London. Richard Robin, CEO of NAS, commented that the threat of government closure of businesses was enough to warrant this separate coverage.
“We recognize that businesses face a significant threat if a staff member, visitor, client or patient tests positive for Ebola,” Robin said. “The premises may be closed by the Center for Disease Control or other relevant state or federal authority. The direct and indirect costs of this are not covered by any current insurance and the business could suffer a severe uninsured loss and even face bankruptcy if they are not allowed to reopen.”
The group considers facilities such as hospitals, hotels, airports, shopping centers, restuarants, theaters and gyms to be at greatest risk of such closure, and therefore stand to gain the most from this product.
“Any place the public may congregate including apartments and habitational units are probably most at risk,” summarized Richard Bryant of Ark Syndicate.
"The individual treatment costs of Ebola will normally be met by the medical and/or travel insurance of the individual or his/her company which is a market well served,’ says Prospect Director Jamie Webb, ‘but what is new is the threat that a business can be shut down by regulatory authorities due to the presence of communicable disease on the premises."
