-- Insurance is the First of its Kind for Hospitals, Covering Both
Known and Not-Yet-Discovered Pathogens --
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (“AXIS Capital”) (NYSE:AXS) today
announced that AXIS Healthcare—the division of AXIS Insurance that
provides professional liability insurance and associated standard
casualty coverages for physician groups, hospitals, allied healthcare
facilities and individual physicians—has launched an innovative new
medical catastrophe (“contagion”) business interruption product for
hospitals in the U.S. and Canada to protect against a loss of revenue
caused by the outbreak of a contagious disease.
The AXIS Healthcare Medical Catastrophe Business Interruption and Extra
Expense product includes coverage for any disease that is transmitted by
direct or indirect contact. These diseases include bubonic plague, MRSA,
Legionnaires’ Disease, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (“MERS”),
Hantavirus, SARS, West Nile Virus, HIV, Ebola Virus, Marburg Virus,
Lassa Fever, Influenza, and Bird Flu, as well as other lesser-known
viruses or plagues. The new product would also provide coverage for
diseases that have not yet been discovered by science, or a disease that
could mutate into a pandemic at some point in the future.
Commenting on the announcement, Peter Wilson, President of AXIS
Insurance’s U.S. operations, said, “AXIS Healthcare’s medical
catastrophe coverage represents an industry first, and we are pleased to
be able to offer North American hospitals a new tool to safeguard their
critical operations against pandemics and other disease outbreaks. The
healthcare industry is an important market for AXIS Insurance, and we
are committed to applying our specialty underwriting expertise, service
capabilities, and capital strength to provide innovative and competitive
solutions like this one.”
Kimber Lantry, Head of AXIS Healthcare, added, “Our new Medical
Catastrophe Business Interruption and Extra Expense coverage serves a
critical need in the healthcare marketplace that has thus far gone
unaddressed by the insurance industry. Pandemics represent an especially
serious risk for healthcare providers. During the 2003 SARS outbreak,
hospitals were identified as the source of the spread of infection,
resulting in the partial or complete shutdown of three hospitals in
Canada. Indeed, after the first Ebola patient was admitted to Texas
Presbyterian Hospital in October of 2014, the hospital lost $20.3M in
revenue over a two-month period, with a decline in inpatient days of 22%
and a decline in ER visits of 49% during the first month. ”
The policy responds when the contagion directly results in any one of
four triggers:
-
A governmental quarantine of a hospital;
-
If 25% or more of the medical personnel do not come to work;
-
A 25% or more reduction in inpatient stays; or
-
A 25% or more reduction in emergency room visits.
The maximum length of coverage is limited to twelve months from the date
the coverage is triggered.
Prior to offering a quotation, a hospital must work with AXIS Healthcare
on a pandemic preparedness assessment. The company will send, at its own
expense, a healthcare risk manager with specialized skills in pandemic
preparedness to assess the quality of the hospital’s pandemic program.
Hospitals potentially interested in coverage should reach out to their
insurance broker, or contact AXISHealthcare@axiscapital.com.
About AXIS Capital
AXIS Capital is a Bermuda-based global provider of specialty lines
insurance and treaty reinsurance with shareholders’ equity attributable
to AXIS Capital at September 30, 2015 of $5.8 billion and locations in
Bermuda, the United States, Europe, Singapore, Canada, Australia and
Latin America. Its operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of
“A+” (“Strong”) by Standard & Poor’s and “A+” (“Superior”) by A.M. Best.
For more information about AXIS Capital, visit our website at www.axiscapital.com.
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