Just a few months ago, most experts at U.S. health insurance companies, health reinsurers and benefits brokerage firms who noticed Ebola at all were full of reasons why Ebola was of no practical concern to them and their customers.
Today, Ebola is starting to be a topic of acute interest, especially for companies with multinational employee benefits customers.
Many Western mining businesses and oil and gas exploration businesses have operations in Guinea Liberia and Sierra Leone – the three African countries directly, heavily affected by Ebola-related curfews and employee evacuations. Still more have operations in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal – countries where public health agencies have reported finding few or new cases of Ebola but have mounted aggressive efforts to keep Ebola out.
Logan Payne wrote in a recent report for Lockton Companies, a benefits broker, that workers’ standard health insurance policies should cover any Ebola-related medical expenses.