Insurance Week: Copay Waivers, Hurricane Ida, COVID-19 Liability Claims and More

Majority of Insurers No Longer Waiving Copays for COVID-19 Hospitalization:

Seventy-two percent of the two largest insurers in each state are no longer waiving cost-sharing requirements for COVID-19 hospitalizations as they were early in the pandemic, according to analysis by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 10 percent of insurers will phase out their waivers by the end of October. (KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, PETERSON CENTER ON HEALTHCARE)

Large P&C Insurers Likely to Suffer Less from Hurricane Ida than Regional Insurers:

Large, national property/casualty insurers will fare better than regional carriers in dealing with losses from Hurricane Ida, according to a report from Moody’s Investor Service. Moody’s said large carriers like State Farm and Allstate have significant advantages over regional insurers like Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, including geographic diversification, solid reinsurance protection, and large capital bases. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

Insurers Bracing for Wave of COVID-19 Liability Claims:

Liability insurers are expecting a wave of discrimination claims as workers return to their workplaces after a year and a half of working remotely. Nearly 3,000 COVID-19-related labor lawsuits have been filed nationwide since the start of the pandemic, and employers have started triggering employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policies that shield them from litigation and compensation award expenses. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

Construction, Property Claim Costs Rising during Pandemic:

The cost of construction materials and labor has increased sharply during the pandemic, with the price of plywood jumping over 250 percent from July 2020 to July 2021, according to a webinar hosted by ATI Restoration. The rising prices have insurers “trying to forecast what the loss will be as part of their overall reserves they will have to put up for” property claims, said John Shaw, a senior vice president for Marsh Risk & Insurance Services. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

Collision Risks Getting Too High for Satellite Insurers:

The collision risks posed by space debris that has been accumulating since the early space missions in the 1950s are driving insurers that provide coverage for the thousands of satellites hovering around the Earth out of the market. “It may start to get difficult to get that type of coverage in the near future as more insurers realize that this is a significant risk that we can’t even get our arms around,” said Richard Parker, co-founder of Assure Space, a unit of AmTrust Financial, which stopped offering spacecraft insurance in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), where most satellites operate, about a year ago. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK