This Insurance Would Have Helped in Coronavirus Crisis But Nobody Bought It

By Russ Banham | April 3, 2020

  • April 3, 2020 at 1:32 pm
    Agency says:
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    In my well over 20 years in this business, most people won’t spend a dime on something that hasn’t happened. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “that has never happened.” It’s not really about what has “never happened” it’s about what can happen. Many inquire about insurance coverages after catastrophe, like interest in earthquake insurance skyrockets after a catastrophic quake. The worst time to buy anything is after an incident happens because it’s too late and it probably won’t happen again for a very long time. If anyone wants to make a lot of money, start a catastrophic insurance company that insures a specific peril after the incident just happens and make the policy cover only the peril of that incident. You can charge up for it and there will be very little risk.

  • April 3, 2020 at 1:35 pm
    reality bites says:
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    If you build it, they will come. Yeah, yeah. And you can lead a horse to water, whaddever.

    How much of our time is spent finding solutions to problems that buyers want to ignore, or we give them a free conceptual proposal on something like this, and the only thing we get is experience in putting an idea on paper for the client to have a financial tool to consider.

  • April 3, 2020 at 1:47 pm
    UW says:
    Hot debate. What do you think?
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    With all due respect, the only reason to pay for this product is the speed of getting reimbursed. Many of the companies who might have benefitted from this parametric cover will get bailed out by the government in one way or another. Why pay insurance premium for something that will rarely, if ever, pay off when you can pay a lobbiest to make sure you get paid off?

  • April 3, 2020 at 2:11 pm
    TheOCG says:
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    Trying to sell this to a client, they would think we are just trying to drum up premium for commissions.

    It’s difficult enough to get clients to buy EPLI or Cyber, those are known risks that have claims happening every single day.

  • April 3, 2020 at 9:47 pm
    knowall says:
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    I imagine we have all heard the objection, “I ain’t never gonna die.”

  • April 5, 2020 at 1:19 pm
    Kathy Kram says:
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    I have Communicable Disease Business Income and Extra Expense Coverage. We have a Childcare Center, Our Michigan Governor issued a stay at home order, however we are consider essential workers, however we are only allowed to care for children of essential worker. Our center usually averages 130+ children per-day. We.now care for less than 20 per day. Because I did not total shut down, but operations have been suspended by the Governor, the claim is denied. There is a Hugh loss of Income!

    any suggestions

    • April 6, 2020 at 11:32 am
      cicero says:
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      is there any Civil Authority clause?

  • April 6, 2020 at 10:24 am
    David G Sayles Jr says:
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    I researched this policy and actually emailed the company-agency. I was told the coverage was a unique product sold by Marsh only and they do not allow brokerage. It is good to be the king.

  • April 6, 2020 at 1:26 pm
    Caldude says:
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    Good News! According to a local agent, Allstate is providing business income coverage. Pulled the ol’ “I told you so” with a couple of my accounts. I am asking my clients to get this in writing from the agent so corporate legal send a letter of gratitude.

  • April 9, 2020 at 5:45 am
    Ian Baigrie says:
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    Many of the policy you have mentioned may grant cover. But if you read most of them they have limitations to the cover.

    The most noticeable one is the Corona exclusion from the previous outbreak. Interesting to see how the insurers react to the claims.

  • April 13, 2020 at 12:40 pm
    Exadjuster says:
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    It’s all moot. I’ve heard our ‘stable genius’ is going to order that all business interruption policies will have to cover virus losses.

  • April 14, 2020 at 1:56 pm
    David Ball says:
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    I have always advised clients and prospects, “it is better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it”. This adage could not be any more applicable than what this world is experiencing today. Some buyers will recognize their exposure and if the economics add up to transfer the risk they will buy. Others will shrug it off and hope it never happens again. It is our responsibility to advise and up to the buyer to decide to buy the risk transfer or shoulder the fiscal responsibility.



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