Quarantine

What Does Quarantine Mean?

A quarantine refers to the strict isolation or separation of people, plants, or animals that have, or are suspected to have, a communicable disease in order to prevent its spread. In the context of insurance, health insurance may provide coverage for quarantine-related expenses, while travel insurance may include quarantine coverage in trip cancellation or interruption policies.

Insuranceopedia Explains Quarantine

Quarantine has become a significant issue for risk managers and insurers, especially health insurance providers, regarding its impact on coverage under health insurance plans. While most major medical policies that offer hospitalization benefits typically cover the medical costs associated with infectious diseases, these policies do not always explicitly mention this coverage. It appears that some policies include coverage, while others do not. Most travel insurance plans, however, include quarantine as part of the risks they cover.

Quarantine situations also reach beyond the patient and their insurer. Clinics that treat infectious patients can face their own liability and operational losses if a facility is shut down, which is one reason practice owners weigh the cost of medical office insurance when evaluating their risk exposure. The same concern applies to providers who send staff into a patient’s home, since workers visiting someone in isolation are typically covered under a home health care service business insurance policy that handles the associated liability.