A recent case where a woman complaining of severe allergic reactions won insurance payouts could prove expensive for disability carriers
A woman recently was awarded $900 per month for 36 months by a French court and the result could drastically alter the disability insurance landscape.
Marine Richard suffers from an allergy to electromagnetic radiation emitted by household items such as TVs, microwave ovens and even Wi-Fi routers. As a result of this allergy she was forced to quit her job as a radio producer and move to a rural location where the levels of electromagnetic radiation are far less pronounced.
Scientists believe that this affliction, known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity, doesn’t exist; the World Health Organization says it does. The court’s award, the first of its kind in France, could set off a bunch of copycat cases that ultimately affects disability policies here in North America.
It already has.
A Massachusetts school recently was sued for $250,000 by a parent whose son got ill as a result of the school increasing its Wi-Fi signal. Still in the early stages, insurance advisors might want to keep an eye on this story. With Wi-Fi everywhere it seems these types of cases are going to grow in numbers.
But the doubters persist.
"It’s a psychological phenomenon," William Barr, a neuropsychologist from the New York University School of Medicine told CBS news. "[Sufferers] essentially establish a belief that something has the potential to cause a symptom, and then when they come in contact with the cause they develop those symptoms."
Marine Richard suffers from an allergy to electromagnetic radiation emitted by household items such as TVs, microwave ovens and even Wi-Fi routers. As a result of this allergy she was forced to quit her job as a radio producer and move to a rural location where the levels of electromagnetic radiation are far less pronounced.
Scientists believe that this affliction, known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity, doesn’t exist; the World Health Organization says it does. The court’s award, the first of its kind in France, could set off a bunch of copycat cases that ultimately affects disability policies here in North America.
It already has.
A Massachusetts school recently was sued for $250,000 by a parent whose son got ill as a result of the school increasing its Wi-Fi signal. Still in the early stages, insurance advisors might want to keep an eye on this story. With Wi-Fi everywhere it seems these types of cases are going to grow in numbers.
But the doubters persist.
"It’s a psychological phenomenon," William Barr, a neuropsychologist from the New York University School of Medicine told CBS news. "[Sufferers] essentially establish a belief that something has the potential to cause a symptom, and then when they come in contact with the cause they develop those symptoms."
