Chubb and Marsh have announced a collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), that has secured insurance coverage for a program that will offer eligible individuals in 92 lower-income countries and economies a fast, fair and transparent process to receive compensation for rare but serious adverse events associated with vaccines distributed through COVAX up to 30 June 2022.
The COVAX No-fault Compensation Program is the first and only vaccine injury compensation mechanism operating on an international scale.
Co-convened by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO, working in partnership with UNICEF as key implementing partner, COVAX was created to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee their fair and equitable access for every country in the world.
Through Chubb’s and Marsh’s collaboration, up to $150 million in insurance is provided for the COVAX No Fault Compensation Program to cover compensation payments to eligible individuals in the 92 lower-income countries and economies, known as the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) eligible economies.
Insurance broker Marsh led the global placement of the bespoke solution. Chubb is the lead insurer, supported by a further 10 insurers located in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Bermuda.
The delivery of COVID-19 vaccines during 2021 will be the fastest and largest global deployment of novel vaccines in history. The COVAX Facility, the global procurement mechanism of COVAX, aims by the end of 2021 to deliver up to 2 billion doses of safe, effective and quality-assured vaccines to all participating countries, including up to 1.7 billion doses to the 92 AMC-eligible countries and economies, at the same time as wealthier nations.
Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chubb, said: “Chubb is pleased to extend our collaboration with the World Health Organization and its partners to support the critically important COVAX No-Fault Compensation Program. The magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic demands that everyone – from governments and public health authorities to the private sector – bring their skills, capabilities and resources to do their part to end this crisis. We are gratified to work alongside Marsh to support an essential Program that will promote people in all countries, regardless of income levels, having equal access to these life-saving vaccines.”
John Doyle, President and CEO of Marsh, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a human tragedy, which has resulted in trillions of dollars of economic losses and deeply affected the prospects of some of the world’s poorest countries and their people. Throughout the pandemic, Marsh colleagues the world over have worked hard to help clients and communities tackle rapid changes to their risk landscapes. The delivery of COVAX distributed vaccines will now enable some of the most vulnerable societies to rebuild and recover more quickly. By working together, the public sector and insurance industry have the ability to develop solutions that can accelerate economic recovery from COVID-19.”