Members Ask — Am I Covered for COVID-19?
A4DD members use the association’s Occupational Accident insurance more than any other member benefit. They count on “Occ Acc” to protect against medical bills and lost income should you get hurt on the job. But over the past year the question keeps coming up — “Am I covered if I contract COVID-19?”
Our mission is to look out for our members and make it easy to access the best possible benefits affordably. So of course we have inquired with our insurance partners about this. We also believe in giving members straightforward information. Unfortunately, we have been told that an Occupational Accident insurance policy does not normally cover work-related disease like COVID-19. It covers injury from accidents. That may not be the last word, however.
Members have also wondered if they could make a claim if they lost income from having to quarantine after coming into contact with someone who has COVID-19. After all, that’s something that should only happen “accidentally”. Again, our insurer states that this is not the intent of the policy. That kind of situation would not be connsidered a covered “accident” under the policy and so any resulting loss of income would therefore not be covered. But keep reading.
Our Occ Acc insurance provider has also told us that each claim is handled separately based on the facts of each case. And there are numerous lawsuits around the country challenging insurance companies for denying COVID-19 claims. Depending on the outcome of such cases, insurers could change their stance.
The bottom line is this: if you feel you have grounds for a claim it is your right to make that claim and see what happens and A4DD supports your right to do this.
Other Options:
Health insurance, disability insurance (for lost income), and life insurance (for death) should all cover COVID-19-related claims subject to policy terms like those governing pre-existing conditions. As far as we have been able to determine there is no other insurance readily available to intentionally and specifically cover COVID-19 illness or lost income resulting from quarantining after coming into contact with someone infected with COVID-19.
Government unemployment insurance benefits have been made available to ICs precisely so that people like you can choose not to work when you may be contagious. We encourage you to explore that option and check out the COVID-19 related resource links on our website.
