Did you know the history of business insurance can be traced back to a 17th century coffee house in London, where ship owners and merchants would gather to discuss commercial risks?

Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan notes this long history of insuring the risks and hazards facing companies big and small in a new op-ed in NJBiz. Since the beginning of business insurance, Kevelighan writes, insurers have repeatedly stepped up as financial first responders. Whether in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks or in response to the still ongoing 2020 hurricane and wildfire seasons, insurers have covered claims to mitigate losses for businesses large and small.

Yet unlike these covered catastrophes, global pandemics are largely uninsurable for two primary reasons:

• First, viruses do not cause direct physical damage to properties. “A business insurance policy is triggered as the result of properties incurring physical damages, such as fire, hurricanes, or vandalism.
  

• Second, standard insurance policies have explicit exclusions for pandemics. “As further clarity to the direct physical damage issue, in the U.S., standard policies provide an exclusion that is clearly presented and prominently presented on the policy declarations page.”
  

“Only the federal government is capable of providing the financial relief that is needed by so many businesses today,” Kevelighan concludes.

Read the full op-ed here.

For more information, visit fairinsure.org.