Covid-19 coverage - with caveats

INFECTIOUS diseases are a common occurrence, but every few years one crops up that elicits much concern and even alarm.

The latest infectious disease is the Covid-19 which began in China but has now spread across the globe. The tally by the World Health Organization as at March 7 showed over 103,000 confirmed cases, of which more than 80,000 were in China. The number of deaths worldwide exceeded 3,500, and to date 95 countries are affected.

The most common insurance policies will have an exclusion on infectious diseases if the disease is a "known'' event. This is why some banks and major insurers have extended a slew of assistance packages for existing clients.