CCW Global Hong Kong Covid19 Situation and Insurance Update

The CoronaVirus is taking its toll worldwide, and a recent spike in Hong Kong cases has seen the government take further action to restrict cross-border movement and social interactions – this has been especially needed due to the recent case cluster in the city’s main nightlife districts, specifically Lan Kwai Fong.

One of the main news stories in relation to Covid19 over the last week is how should we (both as a society, and more specifically those in the healthcare field) be treating the virus. This is a fairly complicated issue, as social distancing is seen to be the most effective way to slow the spread of the disease in light of the fact that there are, currently, no proven treatments, cures, or vaccines for the coronavirus.

We would urge our clients to not try homebrew remedies – no matter who suggests the medication. If you are not being prescribed a treatment through a doctor or medical expert then it is likely that the “cure” could be worse than the disease. As in the case this week of the man in the USA who died taking an unproven drug cocktail to try and address his fear of the virus.

Researchers and scientists around the world are racing to try and find a vaccine against the virus, but in the meantime palliative care as an inpatient is the main course of treatment for people suffering from the most severe symptoms of the virus. This entails respirators/ventilators to address the pneumonia symptoms caused by Covid19 and sustaining the patient’s life with additional medical technology.

Treating the Coronavirus Outbreak; uncertainty in a time of fear

However, the WHO over the last week has identified some drug treatments which may (and we need to repeat this, may) be effective in dealing with the disease. A drug preapproved for treating EBOLA (remdesivir), and a two-drug cocktail for treating HIV (lopinavir and ritonavir) have been found to have some promise. Additionally, one anti-malarial drug (chloroquine) has also been added for inclusion into the global trials to try to fight the pandemic currently being experience across the world.

Despite this, no medications (as yet) have been able to target Covid19 effectively. While the Malaria medication did stop replication of Covid19, malaria is a fundamentally different disease to Covid19 – it is a parasite, not a virus. This brings the efficacy of the malaria drug into question and means that patients should not take this medication without their doctors’ approval.

A major concern with the virus is the fact that up to a third of all people who actually have the virus may be asymptomatic – that is, not display any symptoms. These “Silent Carriers” could be a major part in why the virus has spread so quickly around the world, and may actually be confusing the pandemic situation as many asymptomatic individuals are not officially added to official infection numbers. Further to this, recent studies have shown that in some cases the incubation period of Covid19 could be as long as 5 weeks from infection rendering the current guidelines for 14 days isolation moot.

Adding to this complication, is the concern that people with blood type A could be at a higher risk with this disease – they were both more likely to get infected and experience more severe symptoms of the virus. This comes from a recent study conducted in Shenzhen, China, which analyzed the patterns of spread and symptom display in roughly 2000 patients, and found that people with blood type A were the hardest hit by Covid19. In contrast to this, individuals with blood type O seemed to be less likely to be infected with the disease, and if they were infected experienced milder symptoms than most other blood types.

It is important to note that even if you are blood type O you are not considered to be safe from the disease. Covid19 can infect people of all ages, nationality, blood type or health status, and it is important that all people (worldwide) take appropriate measures to stem the tide of infection.

Staying Safe from Covid19

At present the best way to fight this disease is through isolation, social distancing, and good hygiene habits (like washing your hands regularly and not touching your face).

In light of this, to protect both our own employees and our clients, CCW Global has instituted a work from home arrangement this week (March 23 2020). We will be operating a skeleton crew in the office, and will still be available to answer any questions you have in regards to your insurance coverage and the pandemic situation, but not all staff will be in the office at any given time.

Phone numbers and Emails will still be operational.

We will continue to provide updates to you as and when we have them on this evolving situation.

We would urge all our clients to adhere to the government and international guidelines currently being put into place around the world. For instance, observing the mandatory 14 day self-isolation/quarantine period currently established in Hong Kong for international travelers is of paramount importance to slowing the spread of the virus.

This is especially important in light of the fact that China will soon be ending the lockdown it had put into place in Wuhan and allowing effected residents back into the general population.

The insurance impact of Covid19

CCW Global has spoken to a number of news outlets over the last few months concerning the impact of the Covid19 outbreak, and we have been providing regular updates on our Hong Kong Insurance 101 Vlog on the situation as it develops.

Covid19 and Health Insurance

At present we would like to reiterate that any existing Hong Kong Health Insurance product, which was purchased prior to December 2019 will cover you against the symptoms associated with the Novel Coronavirus. Additionally, health insurance plans purchased after this date will cover you for future treatment of the Covid19 virus should you not be infected at the time the policy commences.

However, medical insurance is a complex product and pre-existing medical conditions are normally excluded from coverage under both Hong Kong and International Private Medical Insurance Plans. The definition of a pre-existing condition is any medical condition or illness which has displayed symptoms, required treatment, or of which the policyholder was aware prior to the commencement of the insurance.

This is important because so little is known about Covid19. A symptom of the virus could be something as benign as losing your sense of smell in addition to having a runny nose, fever, or cough. As such, if you are considering taking out a Hong Kong health insurance plan to protect yourself against the costs of treatment should you develop Covid19, then we strongly suggest you Contact a CCW Global broker as soon as possible to discuss your options.

The treatment for the novel Coronavirus, as previously mentioned, can require intensive medical care within a hospital for the most severe cases. Long Term stays in hospital are amongst the most expensive medical costs a person will face in their life, and the outbreak of this virus and the ongoing pandemic situation may make the requirement of such care a reality for many individuals worldwide.

Covid19 and Contingency Insurance

Many events worldwide have been cancelled in the wake of the Covid19 outbreak, the most recent of which is the decision to postpone this year’s Tokyo Olympics.

As we told our customers in a recent Hong Kong Insurance 101 episode; while Event Cancellation Insurance does have a wide umbrella of coverage against insurable events – with everything from flooding to adverse weather incidents included in the protection afforded by this type of insurance policy – there is a very important exclusion in place for most Event Cancellation policies which is important to understand under current circumstances.

Event Cancellation Insurance products, since SARS, have included a specific exclusion for cancellations in relation to public health crises (whether real or perceived) in addition to any health situation which has resulted in restricted travel by local or international agencies.

This exclusion is fairly standard across all contingency products, but has been overlooked by many policyholders in recent years.

However, due to the bespoke nature of event insurance coverage, insurers in the past have been able to cover health risks and remove this exclusion at the request of the policyholder in return for a higher premium. This is only done on a case-by-case basis at the insurers discretion, so removing the exclusion is not available for all events, but for larger tentpole events (like the Hong Kong 7’s) organizers will have had coverage against communicable disease risks which would have been otherwise excluded from the policy.

It is important to note that obtaining a new event cancellation policy to protect your upcoming event from cancellation due to the COVID-19 outbreak is not possible at this time – a good analogy would be that this is almost like buying fire insurance to cover a property that is already on fire. You can obtain event cancellation for any of the other risks that would force the postponement or abandonment of your upcoming event, but the likelihood of any specialist contingency insurer removing the standard health risks exclusion from their policy wording at this time is extremely low.

Covid19 and General Insurance Products

The good news is that for the vast majority of Hong Kong Insurance products there will be no impact from Covid19 – car insurance is still car insurance, and home insurance is still home insurance. General insurance products are still being bought and sold as was normal practice before the Coronavirus outbreak.

However, if you have any questions about any of your coverages in light of the current pandemic situation, we would recommend that you contact us and speak to one of our expert advisors today.