Some insurance companies are spooked by COVID-19 and refusing to insure care homes, Morishita said. The industry is lobbying the federal government to provide a financial backstop so insurers would be required to provide this coverage, which they cannot run without.
A successful pandemic class-action lawsuit against a care home could permanently damage the industry at a time when the number of seniors is set to rise substantially, he said.
Alberta's 2021 budget document says the number of Alberta seniors will increase by 30 per cent in the next two decades, and that by 2038, more than a million Albertans will be age 65 or older.