COVID Life-Insurance Payouts Soar - A Simple Solution

Here's What State Insurance Commissioners [NAIC] Have Recommended
 
WASHINGTON - Dec. 9, 2021 - PRLog -- Covid has spurred the largest increase in life-insurance payouts in a century - up 15.4% to $90.43 billion in 2020, the biggest explosion since the 1918 flu epidemic - and Covid is also spurring the fastest rise in the sales of life insurance policies in 25 years.

Thus huge amounts of money will continue to be paid out unnecessarily, since most of Covid deaths now occur among people who refused to be vaccinated.

While companies may be tempted to simply increase the premiums for insurance policies across the board, or toy with the idea of exempting deaths caused by Covid among insured who refuse to be vaccinated, a better and long-tested approach might be one long utilized by the industry, and in accordance with a policy and philosophy adopted by state insurance commissioners, suggests public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who helped develop the tactic.

Indeed, MONEYWEB reports "Higher Life Insurance Premiums For Unvaccinated In The Cards": "Some of the country's biggest life insurers say new customers who refuse to get vaccinated may be classified as higher risk and as such might incur higher premiums.  Major insurers like Momentum Metropolitan, Old Mutual, Discovery and Sanlam share similar sentiments that new customers who seek life insurance cover but are unvaccinated are in for higher premium costs, depending on the outcomes of their combined risk profile."

For years, life insurance companies have charged higher premiums to people who refused to give up smoking, and for people who refuse to maintain a healthy weight.  So, suggests Banzhaf, it would seem only reasonable for insurance companies to charge people who refuse to get vaccinated higher rates.

Indeed, the law may even require it since otherwise the regulated companies are unfairly penalizing the majority of adults who have chosen to be vaccinated by increasing their premiums even though the risk categories are clearly identifiable, and vaccination status can be easily verified even over the Internet (e.g., by requiring proof to be uploaded, as some airlines and universities often do).

Banzhaf also notes that he helped persuade the National Association of Health Insurance Commissioners [NAIC] to adopt a policy under which even health insurance companies charge higher premiums for persons who continue to smoke or maintain unhealthy weights, that Congress, under Obamacare, incorporated a 50% surcharge on smokers, and his legal actions have persuaded the federal government to permit higher premiums based upon both smoking and obesity.

Since life insurance companies already frequently charge higher premiums for applicants who have various existing comorbidities, perhaps life insurance companies should treat unvaccinated status similar to how they treat existing comorbidities, as well as smoking and obesity, argues Banzhaf.

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf

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