Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) President Vernon James says while industry players empathise with businesses that have been impacted by the current health crisis, business interruption insurance policies do not cover losses due to viruses such as COVID-19.
Any assertion otherwise is simply incorrect,” he said in a statement this week in response to media statements calling for the industry to pay for business interruption losses due to COVID-19.
“The IAJ has joined with other regulated financial institutions to forego the reduction in asset taxes for 2020-2021, adding $3 billion to the COVID-19 contingency fund.
Meanwhile, he said the industry has ensured that individuals have adequate supplies of medication, adding that it does not anticipate any adverse effects on life and health insurance policies as COVID-19 remains contained in terms of deaths and illnesses.
In 2019 insurers paid out $21 billion in group health benefits, $23 billion in individual life benefits, and more than $13 billion in motor insurance claims.
