How to Cover COVID-19 Deaths? ... 'Disaster or Injury?'

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] 'Is the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) considered an injury or an illness?'

As COVID-19 spreads nationwide and fatalities occur, attention is focusing on posthumous compensation for the victims. Whether it is classified as an injury or an illness is considered key to determining if COVID-19 falls under insurance coverage.

According to the insurance industry on the 29th, COVID-19 is classified under the Korean Standard Cause of Death Classification as B34.2 (Coronavirus infection, unspecified site) and B97.2 (Coronavirus as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere).

In the case of life insurance injury classification, the scope of injury is defined by the injury classification table with codes 'S00~Y84' corresponding to the Korean Standard Disease Cause Classification, adopting a closed-list approach that includes accidental external injuries and infectious diseases as defined in Article 2, Clause 2 of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.

The statutory first-class infectious diseases covered as injuries under existing life insurance were cholera, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, bacillary dysentery, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection, and hepatitis A. With recent revisions, all of these have been significantly reclassified as second-class infectious diseases.

Recently, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), including the novel coronavirus, have been newly classified as statutory first-class infectious diseases. Therefore, life insurance policies adopting the closed-list approach must recognize these as injuries.

However, the life insurance injury classification table includes a separate footnote stating, "If the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act is enacted or amended, the law in effect at the time of the insurance incident shall apply." Thus, even life insurance policies subscribed to before the outbreak of COVID-19 are expected to recognize it as an injury based on the time of the insurance incident.

An insurance industry official said, "Most COVID-19 fatalities are known to have underlying health conditions," and added, "We recommend consulting with agents or claims specialists for professional advice regarding coverage for COVID-19 deaths."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.