Best’s Commentary: Insurers Better Prepared for Rare Disease Outbreak Amid Lessons From COVID-19

MAY 22, 2026 01:16 PM (EDT)

Best's Commentary: Insurers Better Prepared for Rare Disease Outbreak Amid Lessons From COVID-19

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - MAY 22, 2026 01:16 PM (EDT)
Outbreaks of the Ebola virus and Andes hantavirus are putting a renewed focus on the insurance implications of rare communicable disease spreads and the need for proactive risk management, according to a new AM Best commentary.

The Best's Commentary, "Insurers Better Prepared For Rare Disease Outbreak Amid Lessons From COVID-19," notes that health experts have said neither virus poses an immediate global threat nor is expected to spread anywhere near the scale of COVID-19, although the World Health Organization has warned that the high positivity rate and increasing number of Ebola-related cases and deaths point toward a potentially larger outbreak. AM Best believes insurance companies are well-prepared to handle any direct impact from these ongoing events, particularly given the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to coverage gaps and systemic vulnerabilities.

"Since the pandemic, insurers have increased investments in areas such as telehealth and digital or automated processes, as well as addressed policy ambiguities through re-underwriting," said Sridhar Manyem, senior director, Industry Research and Analytics, AM Best. "Strategies such as these should aid carriers in increasing their response and mitigate any direct losses from these outbreaks and assist against more systemic types of epidemic or pandemic risks."

The commentary notes that these epidemics could contribute to a global economic slowdown at a time when global conflicts are already stoking economic anxiety and recession fears. The impacts on economies already suffering from the effects of the Middle East conflict may be exacerbated. The Ebola surge also has occurred as some African countries are experiencing mounting debt burdens while donor support for health-related crises is dwindling. In addition, even if either virus is contained or proves to be limited and/or localized, it still may weigh on countries dependent on tourism activity to drive economic growth, as was seen during the pandemic.

Overall, these outbreaks are a reminder that global events like the COVID-19 pandemic can expose unexpected accumulations of risk, leaving insurers unable to mitigate the effects through geographic diversification. Also, as demonstrated by the pandemic, increased global and economic mobility also can catalyze the spread of epidemiological risk, with containment measures generally limited in effectiveness if not coordinated globally. Insurers should plan for disease outbreaks from an enterprise risk management standpoint and regularly stress test to assess nonmodeled risks.

To access the full copy of this commentary, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=365101.