At the end of 2019, a new fatal virus was discovered for humans. The widespread aggression has forced the Chinese government to acknowledge its existence on January 21, 2020 and to take unprecedented action. The official name of the virus is 2019-nCoV but the general public knows it as coronavirus.

In a recent article on Wall-Street.ro, Valentin TUCA, CEO of Obsidian Broker, was asked whether the health insurance policies made in Romania should provide the necessary coverage for the incurred medical expenses, including the hospital expenses, in case that the virus also appears in our country.

“There are no special clauses to insure such risks. On the contrary, epidemics and pandemics are explicitly excluded from insurance, due to their catastrophic nature. But beware, epidemics and pandemics are declared by the World Health Organization and as far as I know, in this case, this has not happened yet. As a general rule, travel insurance policies explicitly exclude insurance and situations when there are travel bans in a particular area, or travel warnings from the local foreign ministry. In fact, it is a cooperation between the insured and the insurer, in order to avoid the occurrence of the insured risk, in this case the illness, because, ultimately, the insurance is not just a way to recover the losses, but to prevent against the risk of happening.”, says, for Wall-Street, Valentin Tuca, CEO Obsidian Insurance-Reinsurance Broker

The previous cases of infections with viruses such as H1N1 or Ebola have been covered by the insurers so this one should be covered by the insurer but under certain conditions:

“In this case, in my opinion, the insurers have no arguments to refuse compensation for coronavirus cases, since there were no warnings, no epidemic or pandemic is declared yet, and the manifestations are classic for respiratory or pulmonary viruses, which are insured. However, if an epidemic or pandemic is declared, the insurers will be able to refuse, for the cases that appeared after the declaration, because such exclusions usually exist in the insurance policies. They will also be able to refuse coverage for compensation claims from those who have not complied with travel restrictions in certain areas or warnings issued by the foreign ministry to travel to certain areas, as such provisions also exist under conditions ”, Says Valentin Tuca.