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international insurance firms around the world are
increasingly adding coverage for covid-19.
/ A.M. Costa Rica wire services photo. |
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 Published Tuesday, July 28, 2020 Local
insurance firms maintain
coverage for covid-19 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services The insurance companies that are members of the Costa Rican Association of Private Insurers, AAP, announced that they will continue their coverage to policyholders affected by the covid-19 disease. According to the association, the insurance companies have temporarily nullified the pandemic and epidemic exclusion that most of the world's health policies include within their contractual clauses. This while facing the crisis situation in the country and the national emergency decreed by the government. The members of AAP are Adisa, Assa, BMI, Mapfre, SM Seguros, Sagicor and Palig. These companies have specific guidelines and contractual conditions. They recommend for policyholders affected with covid-19 to immediately contact the corresponding customer service department. The association calls on policyholders to go to health centers only in emergency cases. This will help avoid health networks to get overwhelmed. The protocol will also help avoid the spread of coronavirus and other respiratory conditions in clinics and hospitals. Concerning other types of insurance, such as home or death, these continue to operate normally. As for the government insurance firm, the National Insurance Institute, INS, coverage for its clients by pandemic has not been suspended. The coverage is part of the Work Risks policy. As of May 6, the INS reported expanding their policy to 125 workers affected by covid-19. A move made after the employer managed to demonstrate the relationship between the work carried out by the collaborator and the contagion. "72% of these reports correspond to workers in the health sector," the INS reported. According to the INS, a guideline has been coordinated with Social Security to attend to these cases, in which it is defined, among other actions, that all patients with symptoms of covid-19 must be attended at the public health clinics, even in cases where it is suspected that the disease is linked as an occupational risk. "With this, the aim is to prevent the patient from resorting to other public or private medical centers and generating a greater risk of contagion," the Institute said in its statement. On travel insurance, international companies are also expanding their coverage to include covid-19 as countrywide lockdowns ease, reported the International Travel and Health Insurance Journal. According to the report, with borders opening up, airlines and cruise operators planning new routes and itineraries, and hotel groups putting social distancing and hygiene measures in place ready to receive guests once more, travel insurers are starting to offer covid-19 coverage. This will give travelers the reassurance they’re looking for when it comes to protecting their health and their trip. "Although ‘staycations’ may be the preferred holiday of choice for many this year, there is still a vast amount of people who want, or need, to venture abroad, whether for business or pleasure, and travel insurers are stepping up to meet their needs in terms of pandemic coverage, whether their trip is domestic or international," the journal said in its report. According to the report, an example of that is Saga, the UK-based specialist insurer for the over-50s market, began to include coverage for treatment needed abroad related to covid-19 and repatriation to the UK as standard on its travel insurance policies for all trips since June 1. The insurance provider recently revealed it had refunded £44 million (approximately $54 million) of advance payments to customers whose travel was interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak. They said that these changes have been introduced to provide customers with much-needed certainty about their policies and future travel plans as the UK eases out of lockdown. Saga asserts this is also a response to increased customer demand for suitable coverage, as 74% of Saga customers (all aged 50- plus) said that they would be unlikely to take out travel insurance if it didn’t cover covid-19 risks. Another example is Seven Corners, in the United States, has launched Liaison Travel Plus, a policy that is designed to protect travellers during the covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, the company now offers ARMOR, a policy which acknowledges that road trips will likely increase as places start to open back up after the pandemic. As such, ARMOR, as an annual subscription benefit which can be applied to any road trip plans for 365 days from activation, provides benefits such as returning a passenger, motorcycle, car or RV, telemedicine benefits and returning a pet during road trips, reported the journal. Also in the U.S. the insurance firm VisitorsCoverage has announced that it is to cover public emergency health screenings in the U.S. through its new CoverAmerica Gold policy by International Medical Group (IMG). The new plan is available to non-U.S. citizens for up to 365 days. They offer no-fee cancellation for policyholders unable to embark on their travels or who need to interrupt their U.S. visit prior to their policy’s end date. Medical treatment services are provided for up to 365 days by UnitedHealthcare’s preferred provider network (PPO) in all 50 U.S. states. They offer a standard benefit for acute onset of pre-existing conditions. According to the report, more international insurance firms around the world are increasingly adding coverage for covid-19. In Costa Rica, the plans for a gradual reopening of the tourism industry, safeguarding sanitary measures, for international commercial flights are set to begin on Saturday, Aug. 1. To enter the county, tourists must comply with the following mandatory requirements: • Have travel insurance that covers quarantine and medical expenses in case of illness. • Confirm a negative covid-19 test taken within 48 hours before the trip. • Complete the digital epidemiological form of Social Security. This application will be enabled in different languages. According to the authorities, the requirements have the goal of preventing the entry of people infected with covid-19. According to the Ministry of Health report as of Monday afternoon, 15,229 people have been infected since March. ---------------------------------- Is your travel insurance firm including covid-19 coverage? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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