3 ms·

I also think a lesson people might have learned on the business side is that theres almost no point planning for something like this - how is a small business s

I also think a lesson people might have learned on the business side is that theres almost no point planning for something like this - how is a small business supposed to have enough cash on hand to make it through something like this? This is just so bad for so many restaurants/small businesses etc that it's not really something you can overcome with some planning if you own a small margin small business

londons_explore 7y ago
The same is true of a fire in your small restaurant. Yet people buy insurance for that. Pandemic insurance could exist, and a massive fund could be built up over many decades to pay out when a pandemic does occur. It would be expensive though. If a pandemic occurs every 100 years, and cuts revenue to zero for 6 months, that means the average cost is 0.5% of revenue...
- vikramkr 7y ago
  By your own calculation there that's a really tall order for restaurants to afford, and the damages are also hard to tabulate. For flood or fire you can mitigate your risk and clearly value the damages - how exactly do you tabulate for shutting down a restaurant? Who decides what revenues would have been for a new restaurant?
  - londons_explore 7y ago
    damages could be written into the insurance contract. For example, "During any pandemic period, as defined by WHO, the policyholder may define a single continuous wholly contained subperiod for a claim. A business valuation shall be made of all assets at both the start and end of this subperiod by designated auditor X. The insurance policy shall pay out the difference in valuations."
- LeifCarrotson 7y ago
  Whether pandemic insurance exists or not doesn't change the average cost (except for the insurance company's profit margin). The average cost to society will still be 0.5% even if no one carries insurance for it.
- rsync 7y ago
  "Pandemic insurance could exist ..." Pandemic insurance does exist: https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/wimbledon-2020-cancelation-were-fortunate-to-have-the-insurance-218810.aspx https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/w... "Meanwhile The Times as well as The Guardian reported the estimated payout for the cancelation to be in excess of £100 million (around $123.7 million). AELTC is said to be in the process of putting together the claim."
- bigmanwalter 7y ago
  Pandemic insurance doesn't really make sense. Fires are isolated events, and it is incredibly unlikely that every insured business catches fire all at once. On the other hand, the very nature of a pandemic is that all insured businesses will make their claims at the same time. It's impossible to actually make it work.

londons_explore 7y ago

The same is true of a fire in your small restaurant. Yet people buy insurance for that. Pandemic insurance could exist, and a massive fund could be built up over many decades to pay out when a pandemic does occur. It would be expensive though. If a pandemic occurs every 100 years, and cuts revenue to zero for 6 months, that means the average cost is 0.5% of revenue...

vikramkr 7y ago
By your own calculation there that's a really tall order for restaurants to afford, and the damages are also hard to tabulate. For flood or fire you can mitigate your risk and clearly value the damages - how exactly do you tabulate for shutting down a restaurant? Who decides what revenues would have been for a new restaurant?
- londons_explore 7y ago
  damages could be written into the insurance contract. For example, "During any pandemic period, as defined by WHO, the policyholder may define a single continuous wholly contained subperiod for a claim. A business valuation shall be made of all assets at both the start and end of this subperiod by designated auditor X. The insurance policy shall pay out the difference in valuations."
LeifCarrotson 7y ago
Whether pandemic insurance exists or not doesn't change the average cost (except for the insurance company's profit margin). The average cost to society will still be 0.5% even if no one carries insurance for it.
rsync 7y ago
"Pandemic insurance could exist ..." Pandemic insurance does exist: https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/wimbledon-2020-cancelation-were-fortunate-to-have-the-insurance-218810.aspx https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/w... "Meanwhile The Times as well as The Guardian reported the estimated payout for the cancelation to be in excess of £100 million (around $123.7 million). AELTC is said to be in the process of putting together the claim."
bigmanwalter 7y ago
Pandemic insurance doesn't really make sense. Fires are isolated events, and it is incredibly unlikely that every insured business catches fire all at once. On the other hand, the very nature of a pandemic is that all insured businesses will make their claims at the same time. It's impossible to actually make it work.