New research by The Geneva Association finds that life and health risks for pandemics similar to COVID-19 are insurable, but warns that property and casualty (P&C) risks remain too large for the private market.
There has been a wide-spread public discussion on how to address the deep financial implications of COVID-19, and The Geneva Association, in collaboration with the University of St. Gallen, has released a new evidence-based study on the risk-taking capacities of insurers related to pandemics.
Among the report’s main findings are that, encouragingly, health and life risks for a pandemic resembling COVID-19 pose no fundamental insurability challenges.
However, P&C insurers have nowhere near the capacity needed to shoulder projected global output losses of more than USD 4 trillion for 2020. By comparison, they collect USD 1.6 trillion in annual premiums, with just USD 30 billion for business interruption policies.
Jad Ariss, The Geneva Association’s Managing Director, said: “When COVID-19 hit, insurers moved quickly to provide relief to their customers –for example, through reduced premiums –safeguard their employees, and engage with governments. They are promptly paying all legitimate claims where pandemic risk is covered.
“But, as our research shows, the pandemic exposed a massive protection gap in the area of business continuity risk. We need to find sustainable solutions which harness the industry’s potential contributions while maintaining its solvency and viability.”
Kai-Uwe Schanz, The Geneva Association’s Head of Research & Foresight and the leading author of the report, said: “Insurers are providing meaningful support to people in the areas of health and life during COVID-19. But pandemic-induced business losses defy basic, widely-accepted criteria for insurability. Unlike risks like natural catastrophes, they occur on a global scale and are not diversifiable.
“Governments and insurers urgently need to figure out the right partnership modalities to prepare for –and respond to –extreme risks like pandemics. The Geneva Association’s research will support this endeavour.”
