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Insurance for economic losses caused by pandemics
Robert Hartwig1, Greg Niehaus1, Joseph Qiu2
1Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA.
The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review
|September 21, 2020
Summary
Private insurance for pandemic economic losses is limited due to high capital requirements. Pooling insurance over time, potentially with government support, can reduce costs and benefit the macroeconomy.
Area of Science:
- Economics
- Insurance
- Public Policy
Background:
- Private insurance for pandemic-related economic losses is currently insufficient.
- High capital reserves are needed for traditional insurance pooling mechanisms against pandemics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the reasons for limited private insurance coverage of pandemic economic losses.
- To analyze government strategies for promoting pandemic risk insurance.
Main Methods:
- Economic modeling of insurance capital requirements.
- Analysis of pooling mechanisms (cross-sectional vs. over time).
- Examination of government intervention and macroeconomic externalities.
Main Results:
- Cross-sectional pooling requires substantial capital, limiting private insurance availability.
- Pooling insurance over time significantly reduces capital needs and costs.
- Pandemic insurance provides positive macroeconomic externalities.
Conclusions:
- Government involvement is likely necessary for effective pandemic risk insurance.
- Strategies to promote pandemic insurance should consider its positive externalities and the benefits of temporal pooling.
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