Coronavirus has brought along with it what will be the largest loss on record for insurers around the globe. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney recently joined The Gallo Show to talk about the struggling insurance industry.
“We’ve got a program, but what I’m worried about is the COVID-19 will affect the reinsurance market worldwide,” Chaney said.
While some car insurers across the state have already vowed to refund Mississippians $60 million, other sectors such as poultry farms will not likely receive as much help.
“This last Easter tornado and the one right after…destroyed a lot of chicken houses,” Chaney said. “If we don’t have a reinsurance market, I’m not sure we are going to be able to totally fix the poultry market.”
Over $100 million in damage of poultry farms spurred from last month’s tornados, and since most of the poultry farms affected lie between Jackson and the coast, Chaney encourages poultry farmers, if possible, to move their business to other regions of the state.
“We are asking folks, if you can, to build more houses up in Leake and Neshoba and all these other areas,” Chaney said.
According to the longtime insurance commissioner, there will be one industry in Mississippi that should expect reimbursement. Casinos.
“I know Lloyd’s of London is going to pay out over 100 billion dollars in claims on COVID-19,” Chaney said. “Some of that money will come to Mississippi because of business interruption insurance for the casinos—well over 100 million dollars of it.”
The payout from Lloyd’s of London plus the reopening of casinos just in time for Memorial Day weekend should be a somewhat efficient jumpstart for one of the state’s leading industries.
To watch the full interview with Chaney, including his outlook on the current state of health insurance, click the video below.
