Covid-19 Insurence

Has COVID-19 made life insurance more expensive? These researchers say they have the answer

© Getty Images/iStockphoto Seventy percent of households have some form of life insurance, by one estimate. The coronavirus pandemic has produced grim numbers that keep rising, like case counts, hospitalization rates and deaths. But there’s that hasn’t increased this year: the cost of life insurance. “We find limited evidence that life insurance companies increased premiums or decreased policy offerings due to COVID-19,” researchers said Monday in a study analyzing more than 800,000 life insurance-policy quotes from almost 100 companies between 2014 and October 2020. University of Kentucky and Illinois State University economists did discover fewer policies being extended to the oldest of potential policyholders, above age 75. But even then, the cost of those premiums did not noticeably increase. By July, there was a 13.6% drop in the number of policies offered for one-, five- and 10-year terms offered to this demographic, according to the study distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research. In all, the “minimal observable adjustments” — which come as more people are thinking about end-of-life financial planning and drawing up wills — surprised at least one of the study’s authors. After car-insurance carriers in the spring offered refunds for policyholders on the road far less, University of Kentucky Professor Aaron Yelowitz figured the life-insurance industry would also respond more to a situation implicating their coverage. It didn’t happen, according to this research. “The verdict from life-insurance companies is coronavirus was not a sort of game changer,” he said. That matters, because an insurance company’s profitability and financial well-being relies on its capacity to underwrite and anticipate mortality. “We think there’s no industry that’s better vested in getting it right than life-insurance companies,” said Yelowitz. But not all analysts are so sure. “Predictions for near-term premium behavior should consider policyholder behavior, as well as company sponsored premium deferral programs,” an October 2020 report by Deloitte concluded. “Actuarial models will need to be updated to reflect changes in expectations, as well as timing of premium payments.” “The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent volatility in market conditions are affecting life insurance and annuity companies,” it added. “Given the uncertainty that exists in these unprecedented times, we expect that insurers could face both short-term and long-term challenges to maintaining business continuity and profitability.” Video: Can your employer require you to get a COVID vaccination (WWL-TV New Orleans) Can your employer require you to get a COVID vaccination SHARE SHARE TWEET SHARE EMAIL Click to expand UP NEXT In the latest study released Monday, however, researchers just looked at term life insurance policies, not whole life policies. (Term-life insurance offers a specified death benefit within the term, while a whole-life insurance policy, typically more expensive, has a cash value that increases over time.) The average yearly policy was $3,887 for a 50-year-old and $872 for a healthy, non-smoker that age, according to researcher data. — As of October, the average yearly premium on a 10-year, $1 million policy was $258 for a healthy, non-smoking 30-year-old and $1,077 on a “regular” policy, according to study data. A regular policy on for 50-year-old was $3,887 on average, and $872 for a healthy, non-smoking person. For a 70-year-old, it was $23,691 for a regular policy and $6,571 for a healthy, non-smoker. Term life insurance policy sales increased 10% in the third quarter, the largest quarterly growth in sales in 18 years, said Catherine Theroux, assistant vice president and director of public relations at Limra, a research trade association for financial service companies including life insurance carriers. Through the end of September, the sales count on term policies is up 7% from the same point last year. Last year, life insurers sold 9.4 million policies overall, Theroux said. “The pandemic, I think, has made it more clear how fragile life can be,” she told MarketWatch. Fifty-four percent of Americans owned life insurance in 2020, down from 63% in 2011, she said. Yelowitz and his co-authors have theories on why premiums haven’t increased. First off, they noted there’s stiff competition in the industry, which could make higher premiums a tough decision. Yelowitz and his colleagues emphasized the findings shouldn’t be seen as carriers downplaying the risks from coronavirus. “Our findings of relatively small adjustments in the term life insurance market— perhaps unexpected — should not be interpreted as dismissing the individual risk from COVID-19, especially for more vulnerable members of society,” they wrote. Instead, carriers may also be factoring in the effects of individuals’ precautions to avoid infection, as well as the public health effects of government shutdowns. See also: A national mask mandate could save 130,000 lives by February, study finds Another theory: Those facing the highest chance of dying from COVID-19 — like an elderly nursing home resident — wouldn’t be obtaining a life insurance policy to begin with. An advisory committee in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week voted to put nursing-home residents and health-care workers at the front of the line for a vaccine. One reason for prioritizing nursing-home residents: Staff and residents in all long-term care facilities accounted for 6% of coronavirus cases,yet 40% of deaths through late November. The fast-approaching possibility of a vaccine in America cleared for emergency-use authorization may provide one final reason for the essentially flat premiums. Insurers may regard the elevated risks as a brief moment in time given the life-insurance term. “The potential vaccine, along with our findings, suggest that it is unlikely that life-insurance companies will significantly alter policies in the next several months due to COVID-19,” the researchers wrote.

Should firefighters get the COVID-19 vaccine sooner? NC insurance commissioner says yes | Charlotte Observer 

No result found, try new keyword!NC’s current plan calls for firefighters to get the vaccine at the same time as construction and grocery store workers.

UpFront: Examing COVID-19's impact on insurance 

There are several things many families have had to place on the back burner as a result of the financial impact of COVID-19 - including insurance. (WXYZ) — There are several things many families have had to place on the back burner as a result of the financial impact of COVID-19 - including insurance. We're examining the issue on tonight's 7 UpFront segment with Anita Fox, the Director of the Michigan Department of International and Financial Services. You can see the full interview in the video player above. "We saw an increase of an estimated 46% of Michiganders lose their insurance during the early days of the pandemic, their health insurance, which is especially troubling during a health crisis," Fox says. "The good news is that we're in the process of open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, where residents can take a look at what their options are from now until December 15th. So there's just about another week left and we learned from last year's enrollment that more than 80% of Michiganders were entitled to some kind of subsidy or tax credit that meant they would get either low cost or no cost coverage." "When you lose your job and then lose your insurance, you then have 60 days to replace your insurance. If you haven't done that, or you're newly uninsured you have until December 15th to go to Michigan.Gov/HealthInsurance," she says. "You'll be able to go in through there, you can do a no-commitment look around. It will tell you how much tax credits you get, how much subsidies you can have, what are your options. And the great thing about those plans, we know their comprehensive plans, they cover vaccinations, preventative care, the kind of essential care you need to keep your family safe. So, these are great options for people who have lost their insurance, people who were previously uninsured." "You're going to have health care costs if your family gets sick or injured, whether or not you have insurance," Fox says. "If you have insurance, you have a way to make sure your family is protected and you get the care you need. You can also get your family preventative care to avoid some of those illnesses or get COVID testing, or vaccines, or the things that you need to stay safe during this pandemic. And people should not be afraid that it's too expensive because there are lots of options." Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.