Thanks, Darcy. What insurance plan did you opt for? I looked into that and it seems that there are only two companies that UChicago students can use–Liberty Mutual and GradGuard (A.G.Dewar only works with certain schools, and UChicago isn’t one of them). Liberty Mutual explicitly excludes epidemics, including Covid-19. GradGuard also explicitly excludes epidemics, including Covid-19. For now, GradGuard is taking the position that it will cover Covid-19 cases for current policyholders, even though Covid is excluded. GradGuard says this is an “accommodation” that its is making now and only “until further notice”–that is, it takes the position that, since epidemics, including Covid-19 are excluded from its coverage, it can withdraw that accommodation at anytime for any reason. So it’s really not insurance for Covid-19. See: https://gradguard.com/static/files/Tuition-COVID-19-Coverage-Alert.pdf. Have I missed an insurance provider?
JB–absolutely agree that the evidence strongly suggests that the chances of the young dying from Covid are extremely slight. From those healthy young adults I know who’ve contracted Covid, however, it seems that they can get quite sick (like a bad flu)–I know one young investment banker who missed almost four weeks of work (she’s now back to her hale and hearty self). If a college student missed tree weeks of a 9.5 week term, I think he/she would have to take a medical leave–no realistic way to make up all that work.