What Can Insurers Do For Haiti?
While it’s our job as news reporters to feed our readership what they need to know and what interests them most, I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable reporting all the “good” news that carriers need not lose any sleep over insured losses in Haiti, where thousands have lost their lives and many more lost their homes and businesses in this week’s devastating earthquake.
Just because the industry did not have much exposure in this catastrophe-torn country, doesn’t mean insurers can’t play a part in the island’s recovery. I’d love to run some news stories about how insurers are helping provide financial or other kinds of support.
We ran one today on our life and health insurance news service about a response by Aetna, which says it will try to help arrange medical evacuations for employer clients with injured workers in Haiti.
Aetna said it also is opening its behavioral health unit’s employee assistance program to members of all Aetna benefit plans, regardless of whether the employers have signed up for EAP services.
The industry suffers from a chronically poor reputation. Even though insurers pay the overwhelming majority of claims filed in a catastrophe, the consumer press often focuses on the small percentage of claims that are mishandled or otherwise rejected–even if most were rightfully declined.
Here is a chance for polishing that poor image by reaching out and helping finance relief efforts, even though the industry does not have a lot of policies written there.
If such efforts are underway, I have yet to hear about them, and neither has the general public. If you folks have any positive stories to share about the industry pitching in to help out in Haiti, post them right here, and send them to our online news editor, Dan Hays, at dhays@sbmedia.com.
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Sam -
I agree with your thoughts. As an industry we have a responsibility to lead by example, and show our support for such a tragic loss.
I’m proud to note that associates of Nationwide can donate to the United Way Worldwide Disaster Fund and the Nationwide Insurance Foundation will match associate contributions of $25 or more dollar for dollar. Gifts to the fund support long-term recovery efforts to rebuild lives and infrastructure devastated by disaster and to address educational, financial and health-related challenges.
Based on historical performance, I’m confident that the associates of Nationwide will respond generously.
Sam, based on my experience with other disasters while working for various insurance companies, I’m confident that nearly all insurance companies will provide a means for employees to donate through them, plus donate monies themselves either expressly or through matching gifts. Whether or not they will make it public is another issue and is probably something the insurance companies themselves will have to decide. It’s a question of balancing pure selfless giving with self promotion–a fine line to be sure.
For those of your readers who may be looking for a good way to donate, may I suggest World Concern as an avenue. This organization has been in Haiti for 31 years and has a permanent office there which is up and running NOW providing shelter, water and medicines to the people. Here is their Haiti info part of their website: http://worldconcern.org/haiti-earthquake/
Sam, I know of independent insurance agents in Miami that are mobilizing locally and accepting donations of canned food, purified water and other critical supplies as well as using e-mail lists to encourage clients to donate via Red Cross or Oxfam by sending links and instructions. These stories will generally not be told unless local media are focusing on where to drop off supplies and other logisitics.
I’ve yet to hear of any insurance or charity-related scams, but the FBI did issue a “Fraud Alert” the day after the disaster and I imagine any scam-related stories would take precedent in the short term, for good reason.
The real opportunity for image enhancement will come during the long-term re-building process. Whether people still care in six months or it’s “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” remains to be seen.
I second David’s recommendation of World Concern, they are well-established in Haiti and an excellent choice for donations.
Sam, as all should know by now, there has been a fund set up by former Presidents Clinton and Bush, who faithfully promise to be sure that the money donated will be well spent for Haiti. They ask for people to give money, not blankets or water, which is hard to check out.
It’s not just a call for what can the employees of the corporation give, but what can the corporations do since they have a responsibility to the community, too.
Besides donating my own money to Haiti, I will continue to pray for them. Lifting everything up to Heaven for them.