By Matthew Vanderford, Claimology
The last thing I wanted to do was start writing an article about COVID-19. I mean everywhere we turn it’s an article about COVID-19, another conversation about COVID-19, more chatter, more worry, more uncertainty, more misinformation and worse yet, sometimes the information that’s legit isn’t helping, because there’s really nothing anyone can do but hurry up and wait. But the reality is, there are questions people have. There are real situations people are facing and real solutions that can help during this time. So here I am writing yet another article on it — or at least some things that apply in a world that doesn’t stop, regardless if our lives are paused — and I hope this helps.
So is COVID-19 a covered loss? And the answer is — it depends. But what else are you going to expect from a situation that the modern world hasn’t seen before? And I mean modern in the sense that the last pandemic was the flu of 1918 and our world is drastically different than that one of long ago. Health care is different, communication is different, work is different, life spans are different, I mean even toilet paper is different. Back in the early 1900s people didn’t even want to call it toilet paper. It was taboo- too embarrassing to even mention it by name; now I can’t even find it on the shelves. How times have changed!!
Most insurance policies don’t cover for direct physical loss due to a virus. However, some policies do. And even more importantly, preventative actions taken to protect your property and health may also be covered depending on the event that caused damage to the property — the root source for the trigger of coverage.
For example, let’s say during this time of social distancing a pipe breaks in your property and water damages a room or two. You call your insurance company, file a claim, and they tell you an adjuster will be out to inspect the damages in two days. Now you call your agent for advice on what to do next. They let you know that you need to mitigate the damages as per the demands of the policy which requires more people to enter your property. But wait — we’ve all been urged to sequester and stay in place. Is there anything that can be done to protect and preserve your property, the health and safety of workers, and your family while the insurance claims investigation takes place? The answer is YES.
Assuming the loss is triggered by a covered peril/event, then all actions done to make the property available for inspections, to live in, and work in safely, are covered due to the primary cause of loss. In this case, the water damage caused by a broken pipe is the trigger for loss, so all actions related to this event would be covered under the policy too.
That means clean rooms for decontamination are covered under Coverage A: Dwelling.
The world stage hasn’t seen something like this in quite a while and it is dramatically different than before. And because COVID-19 is new, claims involving actions around this novel virus will be up for debate. The good thing is because insurance policies are written by the insurance companies, grey areas or ambiguous language in the insurance policy contracts are to the advantage of the insured — YOU! So, if you have questions, seek counsel, seek multiple sources for credible information and ask people who work in the areas your questions.
