Ebola has gone global. On August 8 , WHO declared an international public health emergency formalising the severity of the outbreak. The crisis in Africa has infected more than 10000 people and claimed more than 4500 lives. The world bank estimates that if we do not meet the outbreak with a swift response , the regional impact could reach $32.6 billion by end of 2015.
The crisis has already had a profound impact on the millions of people in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Global supply chains have been disrupted as ports and borders are partially or completely closed, and companies across Africa have closed their doors.Ebola cases that have spread outside Africa have made this journey through passengers taking flights from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa. While transport links between India and West Africa are limited, the virus can travel through a third country. Moreover, there are fairly large Indian communities living in these countries of West Africa, and if the situation there worsens considerably, one could expect them to return to India. So health authorities here need to be vigilant, and recognise that at some time, whether during this epidemic or the next ones, sporadic cases are likely to appear in India. The challenge, of course, will be to make sure that these sporadic cases are contained and do not spread in the general population.
Insurance companies in US and Britan have started writing Ebola exclusions into standard policies to cover hospitals and other businesses vulnerable to local disruptions.Recently British insurance broker Aon has launched Ebola liability cover for hospitals and other health care institutions. The broker’s Ebola cover is for situations “where existing liability programs may not apply” and provides up to $25 million of liability coverage, Aon said in a statement. The policy has been developed with British insurance company Hiscox, and will be available through other brokers after 60 days, Aon said. Miller Insurance Services LLP and William Gallagher Associates last week launched the first product to insure hospitals against losses from any shutdown made necessary by Ebola quarantine, teaming up with Lloyd’s of London underwriter Ark Syndicate.
The companies are concerned about how this outbreak will affect their operations and revenues.With the high population density along with poor sanitation and medical facilities , Ebola outbreak in India could be disastrous.India spends around 1% of GDP on health with only 9 hospital beds per 10,000.While an outbreak could potentially impact several lines of insurance including Workmen compensation, business interruption, supply chain disruption, general liability and directors & officers liability,claims may also arise via healthcare coverage, life insurance payouts and travel insurance . As of now there are no specific coverage restrictions related to the outbreak of Ebola in India and no Ebola cases have been found . I am just hoping we are in the category of preppers rather than survivalists.
The views and opinions expressed or implied in the article is of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of my company
Credit- http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/situation-reports/en/ ,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/22/health-ebola-insurance-idUSL3N0SG69X20141022 and other sources/
