Ebolas Threat to Business

After Dr. Craig Spencer fell ill with Ebola, two businesses he visited shut down temporarily, for cleaning. The experience of one of these businesses, The Gutter bowling alley, shows the disease can be hard to avoid, and expensive to respond to.

Biorecovery Corporation, which cleaned The Gutter on Friday night, estimated the cost at $10,000 to $25,000, according to Todd Powers, owner of The Gutter. Powers said that Biorecovery and his insurance broker are talking to his insurer, the Philadelphia Insurance Companies, and he is hopeful his policy will cover some part of his expenses.

But the Insurance Information Institute says most business insurance policies dont offer much help when it comes to infectious diseases.

Business interruption policies generally only cover weather and other events that cause physical damage to the business premises.

Liability insurance often excludes communicable illness.

In general, insurers are reluctant to pay for cleanup jobs that have not been ordered by the government. The Gutter was not under decontamination orders, but Powers felt he had little choice: his customers and workers expected it.

In one area, insurance does offer protection:almost all businesses are required to carry Workers' Compensation insurance. And if someone becomes sick in the workplace as happened to a nurse in Texas the cost of their treatment will be covered.

Originally posted here:
Ebolas Threat to Business