New safefood funded research into the cost of living with a food allergy or coeliac disease in Northern Ireland has estimated that the average cost burden for a child with a food allergy is £1,414 every year, and £1,259 for an adult.

The research  looks for the first time ever at the socio-economic cost of living with a food hypersensitivity (food allergy, food intolerance and coeliac disease) on the island of Ireland.

These costs are primarily medical costs including hospital visits and stays, as well as the cost of missed days from work, school, or college, and the cost of travel associated with medical appointments.

The research led by teams at Queens University Belfast and the Technological University Dublin also found that 43% of the adult costs (£542) were borne by the individual themselves, with the remaining 57% being shared with the health service (£717).

The out-of-pocket costs incurred by parents of food allergic children were slightly lower at 39% (£550), with 61% (£864) being shared with the health service.

Introducing the findings, Dr Gary A Kearney, Interim Chief Executive, safefood, said; “For the first time in Northern Ireland, we now have reliable and locally relevant figures for the true cost of living with a food allergy, food intolerance or coeliac disease.

“Collectively, these conditions affect at least one in ten of the population and symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening. What is clear from the research is that living with these conditions is a financial burden for individuals and their families.”

For those with coeliac disease, the associated extra costs were £1,365 a year for an adult, rising to £1,690 for a parent of a coeliac child. These costs were primarily due to medical visits but also health insurance and missed days from work, school or college.

For adults who were coeliac, 71% of the costs (£965) were incurred by the individual, with 29% (£400) shared with the health service. For parents of coeliac children, 60% (£1,011) were out-of-pocket costs with 40% (£679) shared with the health service.

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The law, officially titled The UK Food Information Amendment, now requires food businesses to provide full ingredient lists and allergen labelling on foods pre-packaged for direct sale on the premises. The legislation was introduced to protect allergy sufferers and give them confidence in the food they buy.

It was introduced after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse from Fulham in London died after suffering a severe reaction on a flight between London and Nice in 2016, after unknowingly eating sesame, which she was allergic to, in an artichoke, olive and tapenade sandwich from Pret a Manger at Heathrow Airport.

Insurance broker Partners& say there have been some concerns over the readiness of the industry to meet the new requirements.

Reputational damage

Food and drink sector specialist from Partners&, Gary Clifton, says: “From a general insurance point of view, we’d advise companies to check their public and products liability limits of indemnity – although these are two separate areas of cover, they commonly go hand-in-hand and share the same limit of indemnity. 

“Many standard limits are inadequate to respond to a major event, with minimum levels ranging from £1m to £2.5m. 

“It would only take one event resulting in life-changing injuries to a consumer to burn through these sums. After that, the business must fund costs and awards themselves. For many small businesses, this would be crippling.”

Gary warns that  the indirect costs of an actual or alleged case through reputational damage can also pose a significant threat. 

““Even if a business has complied with Natasha’s Law, their operation may still be suspended pending the outcome of any investigation resulting from an alleged breach, and they’ll still need to manage the impact on the brand in the interim,” he says.

“With social media, events can quickly spiral out of control and before they know it, their best intended actions when dealing with the incident or interactions with investigatory bodies can be counterproductive.”

Worst case scenario

Partners& advises companies to take immediate steps to prepare for a worst-case scenario. 

Gary says: “Alongside checking their insurance covers, we would also recommend companies drawing up a business resilience plan that should include how to limit their brand damage in the event of a crisis. We’d also recommend they work with a crisis management expert who can help them to draw up pre-prepared public statements and provide training in how to deal with the police and other investigating bodies in the wake of an allergic reaction.

“A company’s risk and insurance adviser should be in a position to help, not only with policy and claims administration, but even more importantly, in advising around pre-event preparations as mentioned above, as well as standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their client in the immediate aftermath and subsequent investigations of a major incident. 

“Whilst these may understandably be the last thing a business might want to think about right now, if they find themselves under the microscope following an allergic reaction, they will be grateful for having made such preparations.”

To find out more, contact Gary Clifton, client partner, chartered risk manager, at gary.clifton@partnersand.com.

Caption: Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, with their son Alex

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