privateRISK: Coronavirus Dashboard (COVID-19)

We have built the below dashboard to provide a consolidated place to review pandemic health information, insurance & finance news, and other expert opinions as the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold. *

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Pandemic Statistics | Insurance Issues | Financial Concerns | Legal Thoughts | General Commentary

COVID-19 Crisis Information

Here we have outlined relevant information on the novel coronavirus COVID-19 from global authoritative sources

COVID-19 Risk Management Advice

Here we have outlined relevant information on the impact to insurances from novel coronavirus COVID-19

COVID-19 Financial Insight

There is much uncertainty about the impact to the U.S. and global economies. Below are some insights from various industry authorities

Overall Risk Management of the COVID19 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic

Something of this magnitude, particularly a biological issue, has never affected the world on this scale in the modern era. Despite our wondrous advances in technology over the past few decades, this health crisis has affirmed the need to recalibrate not just policy for health and human services, but the focus from merely researching advancement to the deployment of technology and crisis plans.

Here are a few areas to consider as this situation unfolds:

Insurance & Risk Management Concerns

As with similar catastrophic losses which were unforeseen, some consumers will have contracts which provide coverage for this loss or can be interpreted as providing coverage. Others will have specific exclusions for viruses/organic pathogens or other verbiage which be interpreted as excluding. This goes for property loss, travel loss, and even some liability cases.

In the aftermath of this, you can be assured that most insurers will re-file their contracts to specifically note that they did not intend for this to be covered. Those carriers willing to price for this risk going forward, will offer coverage as a specific, optional endorsement for consumers.

COVID Insurance Coverage Wildcard

The unknown factor for losses with many insured not having specific coverage is that the government may try to manufacture coverage and essentially penalize the industry (think – forcing insurers to cover flood losses, post-Katrina). This remains a real possibility, particularly as small business owners who do not have coverage band together to bring legal action.

Economic Factors Affecting Insurance

Another area not often consider when something this large has sweeping claims impact: as the economy is impacted, so to are insurer profits. Thus, not only claims will be a determining factor on rates going forward. Once we know the full scope of economic impact, it could be that insurance carrier investments take a huge downturn. Combine that with (potentially) large amounts of claims and that is a recipe for further hardening of a market which was already hardening (personal insurance) or one that always teeters on the cusp (commercial).

Health & Wellness Concerns

Without diving into specifics around health insurance and employee benefits, we can all envision that sweeping change is due to come to healthcare providers in the wake of this crisis. It is now apparent that the healthcare infrastructure in the U.S. is not able to deploy medical care at scale, particularly in densely populated areas. 

Healthcare Administration

Having interviewed healthcare workers in the Northeast United States, the recurring theme was simply that there was not enough staff, enough medical equipment, and enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to go around. A secondary theme was that most of the ranks, from janitors to healthcare network CEOs, had “not signed up for this”. Will more regulation or stricter controls on the amount of required on-site equipment be in the wings? Perhaps. Though we can speculate more administrators will be looking into the best way to balance emergency equipment stock with hospital profitability–something which will not be easy as this industry segment already has issues with bottom line revenue.

Manufacturing and General Infrastructure

Is the principle of just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing dead? Certainly not, though its impact to a crisis scenario cannot be understated. While all industries have seen empires built and wealth created on the principle of only having what you need now and planning for what you might need later, we were all blindsided in this current crisis. Why? Because modeling inventory rarely includes scenarios where the entire supply-chain is gobbled up while demand goes through the roof. Look for this to be an MBA case study for generations.