The insurance industry may have to reassess its COVID adjustment plans as it is increasingly apparent the coronavirus pandemic is a “completely different ballgame” from past communicable disease outbreaks, according to the Actuaries Institute.

Kirsten Armstrong, chief editor of the institute’s online magazine Actuaries Digital, says while many actuaries are working with insurers to stress test products and model insurer insolvency, there is one question that needs to be asked: are insurers ready for the change?

“None of us want the virus to be here,” Ms Armstrong said. “But it is, and we have an opportunity now to help insurers position themselves for the reality of living with the virus for years to come.

“When lockdowns become more difficult to enforce and the virus continues to circulate, are our insurance policies up to scratch?

“Are they delivering the insurance coverage that businesses and people need at a price that truly reflects the underlying risks?

“When borders are re-opened, do we have travel policies that will work? Do we know how to assess the risks in our products of people who have either experienced COVID-19 or been vaccinated against it?”

Ms Armstrong, who is a Taylor Fry Principal, says the industry needs to understand that new strains mean different things and it’s not something that everyone is ready for.

“So some insurers are more ready than others,” she told insuranceNEWS.com.au today. “The other key point is that there has been a little bit of optimism.

“A lot of people have been talking about post-COVID but actually post-COVID is a long time away and there is a lot of time in between where we are going to be living with the virus where new strains might come along with different characteristics and those different characteristics might change the risk profile.”