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Many
North
American Life Insurers Still
in Planning Stage
for Flu Pandemic
Atlanta,
Georgia—April 24, 2006—North American life insurance companies lag
behind their international counterparts in their preparation for a
possible avian influenza pandemic, according to a survey conducted during
the first two weeks of April 2006. LOMA, a leading global association of
life insurance companies, sponsored the survey, which was distributed to
its members in
North America
and in the rest of the world. There
were 155 responses, more than one-quarter of which were from outside North
America, chiefly from
Asia
.
The LOMA survey found
that about one-third of North American life insurers have plans in place
to address a flu pandemic. In
contrast, more than half of life insurers elsewhere have pandemic plans.
Asian companies were particularly likely to have pandemic
plans.
In general,
pandemic response plans differ from ordinary disaster recovery and
business continuity plans in their emphasis on human resource issues and
on work at home. Many North American life insurers that do not yet have
such plans are in the process of preparing them.
The survey also examines
insurer plans to have their staff work at home and to protect the health
of their employees. It also
presents information regarding insurer stockpiling of antiviral
medications, personal protective equipment and hand sanitizers.
Results of the survey are
available to LOMA Members on LOMA’s
Web site. A forthcoming
LOMA research report examines the features of insurer pandemic plans now
in place, as revealed by the qualitative results to this survey.
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