Given that Public health officials and organisations around the world remain on high alert because of increasing concerns about the prospect of an influenza pandemic, which many experts believe to be inevitable, it's only natural that we've been flooded with questions from subscribers wanting to know whether their life, trauma, income protection, health and travel insurance policies will provide adequate protection in this event
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Bird Flu: What your insurance company hasn't told you! ... continued from above
In this article we'll look at the various policies that you may need to
rely on in the event of a bird flu pandemic ... and the likely issues
that could impact on policyholders.
The insurance industry's worst-case models - in the event that the
disease jumps from birds to humans - predict worldwide losses of $US71.3
billion ($97 billion) to $200 billion. More optimistic models show
$US15-20 billion of insured losses, reflecting medical advances and
containment efforts.
Health Minister, Mr Tony Abbott, has predicted 13,000 Australian deaths
with more than 2 million others affected if there was a pandemic of a
strain of the disease.
The answers to the bird flu insurance question, as with any other event,
will be found in the wording of your insurance policies.
1. Life Insurance.
According to the World Health Organisation, half of those infected with
the disease to date have died ... so it's important to understand the
issue of bird flu as it relates to
life insurance.
Life insurance policies usually cover death by any cause - other than
specifically excluded events (such as suicide within a certain period
from taking out cover).
No policies we are aware of exclude bird flu and, unlike general
insurance policies (covering cars,
home & contents, etc), your life insurer can't add exclusions like bird
flu after the policy is in
force. Check your policy wording or ask your broker if you are in any
doubt.
You should also check your policy to see whether there is a premium rate
guarantee. A premium grate
guarantee means that your insurer can't increase your rates in order to
subsidise the potentially
massive losses that a bird flu pandemic could cause.
You should also get your hands on a copy of the application form that
you completed when you
purchased your life insurance policy to ensure that there are no errors
or omissions. Insurers can
void your policy for non-disclosure of information ... meaning that they
could potentially avoid a
payout for death as a result of bird flu because, for example, you
didn't disclose that you had
asthma as a child.
To help determine whether the amount of cover that you have on your life
will meet your expectations you are welcome to use our free online
life insurance calculator.
You can also apply free online for comparison
life insurance
quotes from a broad selection of leading
Australian insurers.
2. Income Protection Insurance
As in the case of life insurance, Income Insurance policies usually
provide cover for all events that
are not specifically excluded in the policy document ... so unless you
can see a bird flu exclusion
in your policy, then you are probably protected.
Also like life insurance policies, the better quality income protection
insurance policies are also
usually guranteed renewable and non-cancellable by the insurer ...
meaning they can't add new
exclusions to existing policies.
Premium rate guarantees are available on some policies and, again, you
should check that you have
disclosed anything and everything in relation to pre-existing conditions
on your application.
You can obtain competitive
premium
rate comparisons for income protection insurance using our
free online
quote request form.
3. Trauma Insurance
Unlike life insurance or income protection, trauma insurance covers only
specific events ... i.e. if it's not on the list of insured medical
conditions (and we're yet to find a policy that includes bird flu on the
list), then you're not covered under your trauma policy unless the
impact of the disease was such that the you could never work again on a
‘total and permanent’ basis.
It is worth noting that very few Critical Illness policies are sold
without life insurance cover. We include optional quotes for trauma
insurance in both our
life insurance
and
income protection insurance quote request forms
4. Health Insurance
It will depend largely on the severity of the illness (therefore the
extent of your required treatment) and the type of cover that you have
as to how far your health insurance policy will go in providing for your
needs should you contract bird flu.
According to UK health insurance specialist, Phil Taylor, as soon as the
condition (or a related condition) becomes acute, it is likely that a
patient would be admitted to an intensive care facility. You should
check your policy terms and conditions to establish whether it extends
to cover this eventuality.
You can obtain free
health insurance policy comparisons from Australian health insurance
specialists
iSelect.
5. Travel Insurance
Given that, in the current environment, there is potentially a higher
risk of contracting something
like bird flu whilst travelling overseas than exists domestically, you
should investigate your policy
wording carefully for both inclusions and exclusions that may affect
you.
If you are travelling without travel insurance, or if you wish to obtain
travel insurance quotes or policy comparisons, we recommend that you
visit 1Cover.
In addition to travel insurance, there are other precautions that you
can take in order to minimise
the risk of contracting bird flu.
Kaz Ross, Asian Studies Coordinator, School of Asian Languages and
Studies, University of Tasmania,
has prepared the following recommendations for travellers, particularly
those travelling in Asia.
Before you travel
Stay informed about travel warnings. Regularly check the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
website at
http://www.dfat.gov.au
Visit CDC's Travellers' Health Web page on Southeast Asia (http://www.cdc.gov/travel/seasia.htm)
to
educate yourself and others who may be travelling with you about any
disease risks and CDC health
recommendations for international travel in areas you plan to visit. For
a list of affected areas and
other information about avian influenza, see
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm
Register with the Australian embassy in the country you are visiting.
You can do this online at
https://www.orao.dfat.gov.au/orao/weborao.nsf/homepage?Openpage
Be sure you are up to date with all your vaccinations, and see your
doctor or health-care provider,
ideally 4–6 weeks before travel, to get any additional vaccination
medications or information you may
need.
Discuss any concerns with your doctor before departure. Your doctor may
recommend purchasing
anti-viral medication such as Tamiflu or Relenza. Although these are not
designed to fight Bird Flu
specifically they are effective against viruses. There is no specific
vaccine for Bird Flu yet. Your
doctor may also recommend a normal flu shot. Your doctor may also
recommend purchasing face masks.
Make sure these are of Australian Standard P2. See 3M site at
http://www.3m.com/intl/au/safety/index.jhtml for details of
products.
Assemble a travel health kit containing basic first aid and medical
supplies. Be sure to include a
thermometer and alcohol-based hand gel for hand hygiene. See the
Travellers Health Kit page at
http://www2.ncid.cdc.gov/travel/yb/utils/ybGet.asp?section=recs&obj=travelers-health-kit.htm
for
other suggested items.
Identify in-country health-care resources in advance of your trip.
Check your health insurance plan or get additional insurance that covers
medical evacuation in case
you become sick.
While
overseas
Avoid all direct contact with poultry, including touching
well-appearing, sick, or dead chickens and
ducks. Avoid places such as poultry farms and bird markets where live
poultry are raised or kept, and
avoid handling surfaces contaminated with poultry faeces or secretions.
As with other infectious illnesses, one of the most important preventive
practices is careful and
frequent hand washing. Cleaning your hands often with soap and water
removes potentially infectious
material from your skin and helps prevent disease transmission.
Waterless alcohol-based hand gels may
be used when soap is not available and hands are not visibly soiled.
Influenza viruses are destroyed by heat; therefore, as a precaution, all
foods from poultry,
including eggs and poultry blood, should be thoroughly cooked.
If you become sick with symptoms such as a fever, difficulty breathing,
or cough, or with any illness
seek prompt medical attention. It is advisable that you defer further
travel until you are free of
symptoms, unless your travel is health-related.
After your
return
Monitor your health for 10 days.
If you become ill with fever and develop a cough or difficulty breathing
or if you develop any
illness during this 10-day period, consult a health-care provider.
Before you visit a health-care
setting, tell the provider the following: 1) your symptoms, 2) where you
travelled, and 3) if you
have had direct contact with poultry. This way, he or she can be aware
that you have travelled to an
area reporting avian influenza.
Disclaimer:
The information contained above has been provided as a general
service. Any references to specific financial, legal, accounting, or
taxation issues are done so in the context of general information
and should not be relied upon as fact or construed as advice by the
us in any of these areas. You should consult a relevant financial,
legal, tax or accounting professional to assist in your particular
circumstance. |
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