The COVID-19 health emergency - and the public health measures taken to contain the spread of the pandemic - have had devastating impacts on the businesses forced to cease or severely curtail their operations. While the impacts have varied considerably accross different sectors and regions depending on the severity of the outbreak and the nature of the restrictive measures imposed, no country or part of the economy has been completely spared.

The application of business interruption coverage to pandemic-related business revenue losses is unlikely to cover a significant share of the actual revenue losses incurred and, given the magnitude of the potential losses that could be incurred and the inability of insurance and reinsurance companies to effectively diversify the risk, it is unlikely that insurers and reinsurers will (on their own) make significant levels of insurance available for business interruption resulting from future pandemics.

This webinar brought together businesses, insurance intermediaries, insurance and reinsurance companies and policy makers to better understand the impact that the crisis has had on different types of policyholders, the challenges that insurers and reinsurers face in extending greater support and the steps needed to find a solution to ensure that the financial impacts of infectious disease outbreaks are better managed in the future. Experiences from across different sectors and regions were shared with a view to building greater understanding of the challenges, and supporting greater financial resilience and solutions towards future pandemic losses.

Agenda

This document provides an overview of the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and the implications of limited insurance coverage for pandemic-related revenue losses as well as some of the proposed solutions for establishing insurance coverage solutions in the future.

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This document outlines the main outcomes of the discussions, including the challenges to insurability of pandemic-related losses, opportunities to improve insurability and some of the critical next steps for building future resilience against pandemic risks.

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