A clever book title always helps sales. Poet Robert Graves’ classic memoir, Goodbye to All That, is in such a category.
Its sharp observations of society, with especially trenchant vignettes on the First World War, resonated with readers when published in 1929.
The title captured the horror of what many wanted to forget, and I feel a similar sentiment is at play when many of us think back to the Covid era.
It was a very difficult period and now people are just grateful to be able to get on with life.
Terms such as ‘lockdown’, ‘quarantine’ and ‘social distancing’ are ones I don’t want to remember.
But the fact is the legacy of Covid is here before our every eyes. While the World Health Organization officially declared Covid over as a public health emergency on 5 May, the signs of it linger.
This has implications for the protection part of the advice market and there is no settled view on the way forward
Pick your favourite international problem — from record levels of national debt to labour shortages and supply chain difficulties.
Or what about more local issues, such as endless hospital waiting lists or the inability to get a GP appointment for months on end?
This may all seem a bit too much to handle — because it probably is.
Yet we are where we are, and the focus of June’s cover feature is how the condition of long Covid, or post-Covid syndrome, is making life miserable for millions of citizens.
The Office for National Statistics estimates two million people, or 3% of the UK population, suffer from it. Symptoms include brain fog, fatigue and breathlessness for more than 12 weeks during or after infection.
The debate about the definition of TPD, and how to prove it, is a lively one
The cover feature, by senior reporter Momodou Musa Touray, quotes an Institute for Fiscal Studies report that examined the effect of long Covid on the labour market.
It found the time worked by those with long Covid reduces by, on average, about two and a half hours per week, and earnings by £65 per month; or £1,100 per person for those who drop out of work altogether. And the aggregate impact is equivalent to 110,000 workers being off sick.
We examine the case of one person in detail: Nic Mitchell, 54, who used to have a busy life before she contracted Covid-19 three years ago. She worked as a PR and marketing executive for a leading insurer but is now, sadly, housebound, with many health problems linked to long Covid.
She has tried to claim on a life insurance and critical-illness policy with Aviva. While it does not include cover for long Covid, it allows for a claim against any illness or injury that causes a ‘total and permanent disability’ (TPD).
The Office for National Statistics estimates two million people, or 3% of the UK population, suffer from long Covid
That phrase is the heart of the issue and Aviva declined Mitchell’s claim twice. The debate about the definition of TPD, and how to prove it, is a lively one.
It has implications for the protection part of the advice market and there is no settled view on the way forward. That leaves long Covid sufferers in limbo.
Michael Klimes is acting editor of Money Marketing
This article featured in the June 2023 edition of MM.
If you would like to subscribe to the monthly magazine, please click here.
