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OneAmerica insurance company, represents publicly reported death rates from the CDC for 18-64 age groups from 2019-21. It trends and the significant impacts of COVID-19 that an Indiana-based insurance company says are reflected in “huge” and unprecedented death rate increases among working-age people in the U.S.
An Indiana-based life insurance company is expressing concern over a substantial rise in deaths in adults eighteen to sixty-four years old in 2021 that cannot be explained simply by covid infections themselves.
In a statement issued to me Tuesday evening, January 4, the OneAmerica group of financial companies, a $100 billion insurance company headquartered in Indianapolis since 1877, said:
“Our data shows an increase in death rates in our business across the U.S., which aligns with what we’re seeing in national industry data.”
Citing its analysis of figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the statement said:
“there has been a 40% increase in death rates for 18- to 64-year-old individuals across the U.S., when comparing Q3 [third quarter] 2021 data to pre-pandemic data from the same period in 2019.”
That stunning conclusion is all the more concerning because it covers an age group that is not the hardest hit by covid-19 and which accounts for 25 percent of covid deaths. Moreover, the trend covers all causes of death, suggesting that the pandemic has led to mortality in a variety of ways.
OneAmerica, headquartered in Indianapolis, reported “huge, huge” death-rate increases among working-age people across the U.S.
A graphic prepared by OneAmerica depicts the trend with a black line rising sharply from last July to last September, the latest available numbers.
“CDC data from Q3 [third quarter] 2021 shows 250,000 actual deaths (or a 45% increase over the baseline expectation) for this age group, typically the working age population. Of that total, 50,600 were attributed by the CDC to COVID.”
The company’s statement was in response to my request for its comment on an article Saturday, January 1, in The Center Square, which first reported comments by the company’s CEO Scott Davison on the alarming trend in deaths.
“We are seeing, right now, the highest death rates we have seen in the history of this business—not just at OneAmerica,” Davison said during an online news conference, according to the article. “The data is consistent across every player in that business.”
He characterized the trend in deaths in “huge, huge numbers” among people working in companies that offer life insurance plans to their employees, the article stated. He said further that the trend was continuing into the fourth quarter of 2021.
I shared the OneAmerica statement with Robert Malone, inventor of the mRNA technology on which covid vaccines are based. He said in a phone conversation that the rise in deaths was “absolutely unprecedented, shocking, and raises serious major concerns.” The figures, he said, point to the consequences of a failed approach to the pandemic.
“At a minimum, based on my reading” of The Center Square article, Malone wrote on his Substack publication Monday, “one has to conclude that if this report holds and is confirmed by others in the dry world of life insurance actuaries, we have both a huge human tragedy and a profound public policy failure of the US Government and US HHS system to serve and protect the citizens that pay for this “service”.”
In its response, OneAmerica provided no explanation for the rise in deaths and said it was not aware of any studies being conducted by the CDC.
The company declined to make Davison available for an interview. Its statement, issued by Jonathan Neal, public relations manager of Enterprise Marketing and Communications, is copied in total below.
“Our data shows an increase in death rates in our business across the U.S., which aligns with what we’re seeing in national industry data. It is also in alignment with national publicly available data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Based upon our analysis of this national data, there has been a 40% increase in death rates for 18- to 64-year-old individuals across the U.S., when comparing Q3 2021 data to pre-pandemic data from the same period in 2019.
During the third quarter of 2021, the CDC reported approximately 50,600 deaths in the 18-64 age group were due to COVID, while they reported 252,000 deaths overall during that same period for the 18-64 age group. The CDC defines only those individuals where COVID is listed on the death certificate as a cause/contributing factor in death in that total, but does not include other deaths which may be linked to co-morbidities or other COVID-19 influenced factors (delay in seeking medical care, inability to access medical care, etc.).
We are not aware of any studies that have been conducted, but reference national CDC and industry data to inform our reporting.
Our company privacy policies do not permit us to discuss or provide information regarding customer claims.
Further national information and data can be found on the CDC website and the Society of Actuaries These are the national resources from which we obtain our data. Also, the Association of Life Insurers (ACLI) is a trade organization that represents us and other insurance carriers on a national scale.
Additional detail regarding the 40 percent increase in death rates
The graph [at top of story], which represents publicly reported death rates from the CDC for 18-64 age groups from 2019-21, demonstrates trends and the significant impacts of COVID-19. Based on the U.S. population, there are an estimated 200 million people between the ages of 18 and 64. CDC statistics (in green) show the baseline pre-pandemic death rates in the center of the graph, listed at 100%. The blue line, representing 2020 trends, begins to show COVID impact in Q2 of 2020. The black line represents 2021 deaths in this age group and peaks in Q3 (with the most recently available data through the end of Q3). Using actual CDC reported death totals, 2019 (pre-pandemic) recorded 172,000 deaths during that three-month period. CDC data from Q3 2021 shows 250,000 actual deaths (or a 45% increase over the baseline expectation) for this age group, typically the working age population. Of that total, 50,600 were attributed by the CDC to COVID.”