An article in Moneyweb titled OUTsurance pays out Covid-19 business interruption claims notes that the direct insurer, contrary to its counterparts on the intermediated side, will be paying such claims from clients that have extended cover for infectious diseases. The group has set aside a reserve of R220 million for such claims.
“OUTsurance has paid business interruption claims where the policy had an extension for pandemic cover. The first of these payments were made in April for losses occurring in March 2020 due to the pandemic and resultant lockdown,” the group said.
“The treatment of these claims since March is congruent with the views published by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in an industry communication on 18 June.”
According to Moneyweb, OUTsurance has already paid out around R37 million to date in Covid-19-related business interruption claims. This encompasses around 135 such claims being settled.
No details of these claims are contained in the article, and it is also not clear whether it is a once-off payment, or ongoing, depending on lockdown regulations, as would be the case of the other insurers, should they decide to pay.
There is likely to be a huge benefit in this for OUTsurance in terms of market share, as disgruntled policyholders will have very little brand loyalty where they feel that they have been left in the lurch in their hour of need.
