The ongoing coronavirus crisis has been drawing a lot of attention to insurance – from business interruption policies that remain the subject of court cases, to cyber insurance that is taking centre stage amid a reformed workplace.
Here Tego Insurance founder and chief executive Eric Lowenstein (pictured) shares what his camp is observing when it comes to medical indemnity coverage.
“COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving environment, particularly from an insurance perspective which presents a number of complex and unprecedented risks,” Lowenstein, from New South Wales, told Insurance Business.
“Medical indemnity insurers are receiving an influx of calls requesting medico-legal advice and clarification around a range of COVID-19 related rules and requirements.”
According to the CEO – whose business is a healthcare indemnity underwriter backed by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance – areas being asked about include mask exemptions, mandatory staff vaccination, prescribing Ivermectin, and billing non-Medicare eligible patients for vaccines.
Another expert in the field, Adelaide-based Medical Insurance Group Australia (MIGA), for instance, has published a series of answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) spanning vaccination-related services, informed consent, Medicare billing, workplace issues, cover for treating COVID-19 patients, etc.
The specialist insurer’s FAQs apply to MIGA policies issued to doctors, eligible midwives, and healthcare businesses.
Meanwhile, Tego’s Lowenstein added: “We are also seeing a spike in the number of COVID-related AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency), TGA (therapeutic goods administration), and Medical Board [of Australia] notifications and actions against medical practitioners.”
