Virus Pushes Health Insurance Profits ‘Significantly’ Higher (Corrected)

Profits for health insurers will be significantly higher in 2020 than in 2019 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, a health insurance analyst said Tuesday.

The largest carriers’ profits should jump sharply because claims costs could be as much as 300 basis points, or 3 percentage points lower, Bradley Ellis, head of Fitch Ratings’ North American health insurance and managed care sector, said in a webinar on the outlook for the health-care industry.

“You’re going to see for 2020 a significant improvement in operating results across the board for these companies,” Ellis said. Revenue for the largest publicly held health insurers ...