The world came to a standstill in March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in millions of lives lost globally, economic uncertainty, pressures the healthcare system has not faced in a century, and so much more. Almost every industry in the world was negatively affected by the pandemic, with the insurance sector being one of the worst hit. Claims skyrocketed during this time and our industry had to quickly adjust underwriting practices in the face of this uncertainty. In the worst years of the pandemic, insurers had a cautious approach, imposing exclusions and loadings where necessary, and being more reluctant to offer cover to certain clients. Scientists had to quickly find solutions to treating COVID and develop vaccines. Five years after the pandemic started, we are in a better position, and our industry is recovering. One question does remain – what are the long-term effects of the pandemic on our industry?
Long-COVID and why it matters
While the worst of the pandemic is behind us, there are still worries that linger, one of those being the effects of long-COVID. The National Health Service in the United Kingdom describes long-COVID in the following way: “Most people with COVID-19 feel better within a few days or weeks of their first symptoms and make a full recovery within 12 weeks. For some people, symptoms can last longer. This is called long-COVID or post-COVID-19 syndrome. Long COVID is a new condition which is still being studied.” Symptoms of this condition include fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, dizziness, heart palpitations, and joint and muscle pain. As the symptoms can occur with many other conditions, how does this affect underwriting?
A holistic approach is the most appropriate
When it comes to underwriting clients who suffer with long-COVID, it is best to treat it on a case-by-case basis, as you would any other client applying for an insurance policy. At BrightRock, we stopped asking clients about whether they’ve had COVID a couple of years ago, and this is the industry norm. Clients should be assessed based on the symptoms and conditions they currently have and go from there. Mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, burnout, cognitive decline, etc., are also associated with long-COVID. Again, these would be treated on a case-by-case basis, and standard exclusions for mental health conditions would apply.
Long-COVID and the economy
According to Health Metrics and Evaluation, a health research organisation based at the University of Washington School of Medicine, long-COVID affects around 400 million people in the world. Just as concerning is that it has an annual economic impact of one trillion dollars (about 1% of the global economy). People’s quality of life is severely impacted by this condition, which leads to them becoming temporarily and even permanently unable to work. This can, of course, affect claims for temporary and permanent disability.
The effects of long-COVID in insurance aren’t clear
There’s still some way to go before we can fully understand the effects of long-COVID when it comes to underwriting practices in life insurance. Underwriting is an ever-evolving science which aims to keep up with the latest health data and scientific research. Underwriting methods will change as we learn more about long-COVID in the future.
This article was first published by FA News on 1 August 2025. It is attributed to National Distribution Executive at BrightRock, Etienne Fourie.