Unvaccinated may pay high fee for cover

Unvaccinated people could face higher costs for life and health insurance, says the managing director of insurer Partners Life.

Naomi Ballantyne said insurers in countries like South Africa experienced a spike in claims from Covid deaths and hospital admissions, and were now requiring people applying for insurance to reveal their vaccination status.

Some who had other health issues were being charged more for their cover, or being told they could have cover excluding claims related to Covid-19, Ballantyne said.

‘‘In other markets, insurers and reinsurers have experienced an impact on claims as a result of Covid. We haven’t because we didn’t have Covid,’’ she said.

With Covid looking likely to becoming endemic in New Zealand, insurers that were backed by international reinsurers would ultimately start to ask people about their vaccination status, she said. ‘‘The question in New Zealand is when. Overseas they are already doing it.’’

Vaccinated people were less likely to catch and pass on Covid19 to others, and less likely to end up in hospital with it, and to die of it, Ballantyne said.

‘‘From an insurer’s point of view if someone is unvaccinated, they are exposing themselves to Covid risk, which we have not yet priced or assumed in our underwriting.

Most infections, hospital admissions, and deaths were of people who had not been fully vaccinated, she said.

There were growing signs that unvaccinated people would face costs not faced by fully vaccinated people, which National Party leader Judith Collins said would result in a ‘‘two-class society’’ of the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Government vaccine mandates covered an increasing number of workplaces, and various organisations and the University of Auckland were excluding the unvaccinated from their offices and campuses.

A recent survey of employers found just 9 per cent of employers would not think badly of a job applicant who was not vaccinated compared with one who was.

Ballantyne said there were other implications aside from being able to get work. The ability to get life insurance and health insurance benefits was one of them.

So far the insurance industry has not asked applicants for their vaccination status.

Health insurers Southern Cross Health Society and NIB said they did not ask applicants, and nor did Cigna, which provides insurance for banks. All said the vaccination status of people who already had life and health insurance would not be affected.