Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates
With the recent announcement of further restrictions imposed by the Federal Government on travel; meetings of over 500 and the World Health Organisation classifying Coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic; we take this opportunity to shed some light on how or if your insurances, can help you at this time.
This advice is based on information we have to date and with circumstances changing rapidly, we recommend that you continue to monitor the advice provided by the Federal and State Governments.
Please find some helpful Health Department links below:
State Governments
- Western Australia
- Northern Territory
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Australian Capital Territory
- Tasmania
What may or may not be covered by insurance in Australia?
Travel Insurance
If the Government issues a ‘do not travel’ advice as a result of a pandemic, travel insurance may cover a traveller for trip cancellation costs, depending on when the policy was purchased and what general exclusions the policy contains relating to claims for pandemics or epidemics.
If an Australian who is already travelling falls ill as a result of a pandemic, their travel insurance may cover medical treatment overseas and medical evacuation to Australia, if covered by their policy.
Many travel insurance policies do explicitly exclude any claims related to pandemics. Once a traveller returns to Australia, or if symptoms only present on home soil, the traveller is covered by Medicare.
Business Interruption Insurance
A widespread pandemic, the fear of one, or government controls put in place to control spread, could result in significant interruption for business.
The most likely industries to be initially impacted include those that rely on the gathering of large groups of people, or who have significant workforces. For example, travel industry operators, airlines, larger corporates, manufacturing, accommodation, shopping malls, CBD based businesses relying on foot traffic and entertainment services.
A significant pandemic may also impact business as a result of employee or customer isolation, or from a critical supply chain from overseas becoming unavailable for a period of time.
Businesses should check whether business interruption caused by pandemics is covered under their specific policy. Many policies have since 2005 excluded claims resulting directly or indirectly from pandemics or communicable diseases. However, there are some specific pandemic policies available to businesses via a broker.
Workers' Compensation Insurance
Workers’ Compensation arrangements differ across schemes, however, there are common threshold requirements that would apply in the case of COVID-19:
- that the worker is covered by the scheme, either as an employee or a deemed worker
- that they have an injury, illness or disease of a kind covered by the scheme, and
- that their injury, illness or disease arose out of, or in the course of their employment.
Compared to work-related injuries, it is more difficult to prove that a disease was contracted in, or caused by, particular employment. In the case of a virus such as COVID-19, establishing the time and place of contraction may become increasingly hard.
Whilst the spread of COVID-19 is contained, it may be easier to establish whether contraction is work-related, for example, if in the course of their employment a worker travels to a high-risk area with a known viral outbreak or interacts with people who have contracted the virus. However, once the virus becomes more wide-spread in the local community, establishing the degree of contribution of a worker’s employment to their contraction of the virus will inevitably be more difficult.
Whether a claim for Workers’ Compensation for contracting COVID-19 is accepted will be a matter for the relevant Workers’ Compensation authority, applying their jurisdictions’ Workers’ Compensation laws. Workers’ Compensation authorities will consider each claim on its merits, with regard to the individual circumstances and evidence.
Public Liability Insurance and Management Liability Insurance
Third-party claims may arise against your business and/or Company Directors and Officers and may become subject to lawsuits, as a result of actions in response to COVID-19.
It is important to develop protocols and adequate contingency plans to ensure that steps are being followed to minimise exposure. These would include, but are not limited to:
How to minimise the spread of COVID-19
- Steps to take if an employee is affected
- Protocol for travel – internationally and domestically
- Protocol on how to interact with customers, contractors and suppliers
- Consideration for employees who commute or work in a communal workspace
We recommend keeping extremely diligent records to support a defence of any actions that may be claimed against you in the future.
Australian Workplace Laws
If you are looking for advice and information on Health and Safety and how COVID-19 affects workplace entitlements, we recommend the following sites:
Summary
We recommend you review your business continuity plans and ensure that your business can continue to operate, even in worst-case scenarios.
Please continue to keep updated on the latest information and advice, including monitoring of Government websites to make sure that actions taken are considered and appropriate for your business, health and safety.
We recommend preparing a 'company statement' to distribute amongst your employees if appropriate.
Please feel free to contact us on (08) 9228 2800 or send us an email at [email protected]. should you require any further information.