How to understand the role of insurance mechanism in a global pandemic?

Abstract

The COVID-19 epidemic has seriously affected global economic and social development. The extent to which insurance can play a role in preventing and transferring the risk of infectious diseases has become one of the major concerns of the community. This paper first analyzes the main contents of the U.S. Pandemic Risk Insurance Act during the COVID-19 epidemic and its insights to the global audiences. Then, on the basis of the definition of global pandemic, this paper analyzes the great challenges faced by the insurability of the infectious diseases’ catastrophe from the regional impact, risk accumulation, correlation with capital markets, and accuracy of catastrophe model, and the insurability of local infectious diseases. Finally, this paper presents the key points of the top-level design of the risk transfer mechanism of infectious disease insurance in China. This paper is informative in understanding the role of insurance in the risk transfer of infectious diseases.