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Making it illegal to do business also erodes the idea of capitalism.

by sky_rw 6y ago

Retric 6y ago
A great many companies are still doing business just fine. I can name several that are doing better than normal. The capitalistic approach is to say this is the 3rd major respiratory pandemic of the last 110 years. Get some https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_interruption_insurance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_interruption_insuranc... if you’re at risk for a prolonged shutdown or accept the risk of failure. Governments trying to hedge business risks are a giant slippery slope that doesn’t end. If you disagree that’s fine, but perhaps come up with a general idea of how you want the country to operate longer term for the next crisis. Or worse, as what’s considered a crisis changes over time.
- Anon1096 6y ago
  No insurers will underwrite against a nationwide shutdown caused by pandemic (or war or other meteor strike or any other similar economy-halting event). They'd literally go bankrupt the second they start paying out because the idea of insurance is that not everyone tries to cash out at the same time. That's why you typically see all these plans, business interruption insurance included, make exceptions for exceptional events. And before someone links the Wimbledon, they have bargaining power beyond most companies' capabilities, and their insurance was custom written. There's no way standard businesses will ever be able to get insured against pandemics.
  - Retric 6y ago
    Plenty of options where out there ex: PathogenRX, a product it launched in 2018 to provide financial protection to companies hit by an infectious disease outbreak in the United States and Asia. The product includes a policy underwritten by Munich Re, one of the world's biggest providers of cover to protect insurers against big losses. Sales had been slow, partly because the insurance was viewed as expensive given the risk, Christian Ryan, the head of US hospitality, sports and gaming at Marsh, told CNN Business. But the coronavirus pandemic is rapidly changing that perception, he said. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/business/pandemic-insurance-coronavirus/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/business/pandemic-insurance-c... It was considered expensive specifically because companies where underestimate the risks. The target industries for this product are Hospitality & Gaming, Travel & Tourism, Aviation, Public Entity, Education, Real Estate, Sports & Events and Retail/Wholesale Food & Beverage. https://www.marsh.com/us/campaigns/pathogenrx.html https://www.marsh.com/us/campaigns/pathogenrx.html Well doesn’t that sound exactly like the industry’s at risk during a shutdown.

Making it illegal to do business also erodes the idea of capitalism.

by sky_rw 6y ago

Making it illegal to do business also erodes the idea of capitalism.

A great many companies are still doing business just fine. I can name several that are doing better than normal. The capitalistic approach is to say this is the 3rd major respiratory pandemic of the last 110 years. Get some https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_interruption_insurance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_interruption_insuranc... if you’re at risk for a prolonged shutdown or accept the risk of failure. Governments trying to hedge business risks are a giant slippery slope that doesn’t end. If you disagree that’s fine, but perhaps come up with a general idea of how you want the country to operate longer term for the next crisis. Or worse, as what’s considered a crisis changes over time.

Anon1096 6y ago
No insurers will underwrite against a nationwide shutdown caused by pandemic (or war or other meteor strike or any other similar economy-halting event). They'd literally go bankrupt the second they start paying out because the idea of insurance is that not everyone tries to cash out at the same time. That's why you typically see all these plans, business interruption insurance included, make exceptions for exceptional events. And before someone links the Wimbledon, they have bargaining power beyond most companies' capabilities, and their insurance was custom written. There's no way standard businesses will ever be able to get insured against pandemics.
- Retric 6y ago
  Plenty of options where out there ex: PathogenRX, a product it launched in 2018 to provide financial protection to companies hit by an infectious disease outbreak in the United States and Asia. The product includes a policy underwritten by Munich Re, one of the world's biggest providers of cover to protect insurers against big losses. Sales had been slow, partly because the insurance was viewed as expensive given the risk, Christian Ryan, the head of US hospitality, sports and gaming at Marsh, told CNN Business. But the coronavirus pandemic is rapidly changing that perception, he said. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/business/pandemic-insurance-coronavirus/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/business/pandemic-insurance-c... It was considered expensive specifically because companies where underestimate the risks. The target industries for this product are Hospitality & Gaming, Travel & Tourism, Aviation, Public Entity, Education, Real Estate, Sports & Events and Retail/Wholesale Food & Beverage. https://www.marsh.com/us/campaigns/pathogenrx.html https://www.marsh.com/us/campaigns/pathogenrx.html Well doesn’t that sound exactly like the industry’s at risk during a shutdown.