Covid-19 among leading risks in Middle East
Insurer Zurich International Life in the Middle East has revealed insights into regional health risk trends
Its 2021 Customer Benefits Paid Report revealed that people are giving more consideration to insurance cover, especially since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With Covid-19 the major health story of 2020, the pandemic has had a marked effect on people’s behaviour towards financial protection. According to a YouGov survey commissioned by Zurich, only 22 per cent of respondents felt financially prepared for unfortunate family events. Interestingly, more male respondents (65.56 per cent) felt somewhat/well prepared, compared to 56.07 per cent of women who felt the same.
Across all age categories, more than half of respondents said that due to Covid-19, they were somewhat likely or extremely likely to consider purchasing life or critical illness cover, with more than 63.3 per cent of respondents aged 18-34 saying they purchased life insurance since the start of the global crisis.
Covid-19 responsible for five per cent of life insurance claims
In terms of the biggest threats to life, heart attacks and strokes were the biggest risk (43 per cent), followed by cancer (27 per cent), and accidents (10 per cent). Covid-19, while a relatively new illness, was responsible for five per cent of all life insurance claims, reveals the report.
Given the role of females as key decisionmakers when it comes to household finances, it is noteworthy that women tended to find insurance too expensive to purchase compared to men. Of those surveyed, 42.8 per cent of women said they don’t have insurance because it is too expensive, compared to 34 per cent of men who lacked cover for the same reason.
Walter Jopp, CEO of Zurich in the Middle East, said: “At Zurich, we are committed to helping provide financial security and assurance to families – whatever the circumstances. We are proud to have paid 98.1 per cent of life insurance claim payments, amounting to a total of US$136 million in customer benefits between January 2018 and December 2020.”
ITIJ recently assessed the many factors affecting the rise in health insurance premiums, including increasing treatment costs, higher incidence of chronic conditions, evolving and expanding regulatory requirements, and the accelerated use of insurtech.