How COVID will shape travel, liability insurance in 2021
Discover how the pandemic is anticipated to influence liability, travel and other personal lines of insurance.
Every day things move closer to a form normal, but the pandemic will leave an indelible mark that will continue to shape personal and commercial lines for years to come, according to InsuranceQuotes.com.
As we move further into 2021, how liability is defined will be top-of-mind among schools, venues and operators of other gathering places as the federal government continues to weigh the possibility of a liability shield.
Since there are no federal liability shields, at least for the time being, if a person gets sick at school or work, the determination of legal responsibility will come down to state rules and best practices, InsuranceQuotes.com reported. If the illness is contracted in a place of employment, workers’ compensation would cover it. For cases involving a consumer, a business liability policy could offer protection from a lawsuit.
For business owners still concerned about potential liability lawsuits, the quote aggregation site recommends closely following the CDC’s published best-practices as well as any state and local regulations addressing a company’s operations.
Travel insurance is now a must
As consumers resume traveling, policies to cover trips will return, and InsuranceQuotes.com anticipates the development of COVID-specific travel coverages. However, it will be critical to discuss these coverages and their exclusions with clients.
For example, some confusion persists among people regarding what cancellation policies cover, according to the site, which noted these policies tend to cover events outside of the consumers’ control and not things such as a fear of traveling.
Looking at another form of travel, in the early stages of the pandemic, miles driven dropped along with the number of auto insurance claims. As people start returning to their regular commutes, the discounts, rebate checks and lower premiums of last year will start to go away, according to InsuranceQuotes.com.
At the same time, though, some consumers are finding temporary work-from-home arrangements turning into permanent situations. The site expects this to propel consumer interest in usage-based options and telematics devices as they chase lower insurance costs.
While legislators and courts continue to hash out if policies should cover COVID-related losses, such as business interruption, InsuranceQuotes.com noted any policy written from here on out will specifically address pandemics head-on.
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