A virologist helped crack an impossible problem: how to insure against the economic fallout from devastating viral outbreaks. The plan was ingenious. Yet we’re still in this mess.
Source: We Can Protect the Economy From Pandemics. Why Didn’t We?
“It will be a defining event for all humans who have lived through this, including my 3- and 5-year-old children,” Wolfe said. “But still, everybody is going to go back to their jobs, and people will wonder whether the risk is really that great again.” Researchers who study epidemics even have a term for the phenomenon: the cycle of panic and neglect.”
So as we move to this new bunker life, and places like Home Depot move to a “curb side pickup” or “delivery” only, with no members of the public in the stores, couldn’t they save a “huge” insurance bill?
Idea: how much could businesses save on insurance if they didn’t allow customers in their stores? how much, as % of operating costs, does a public retailer (e.g., Home Depot) spend on “slip & fall” type insurance?