Making capitalism pay for capitalism — the case for capitalism insurance
When you drive a vehicle, you are obliged to hold car insurance. On the off chance you crash and cause injury to others and their property, this ensures no one else has to pay for the resulting damages. So why shouldn’t companies be made to buy insurance in case they — or the capitalist ecosystem in which they operate — also crashes?
In many cases they already do. Like car owners, they are obliged to purchase employer’s liability insurance in case their workers are injured. On top of that, prudent businesses buy insurance to protect themselves against the financial losses resulting from fire, theft, terrorism, general negligence and even cyber-attacks. Yet as has been widely reported, businesses around the world have found that their insurance policies often do not cover damages resulting from pandemics like Covid-19.
From a societal standpoint, this is incredibly problematic because the average taxpayer must pick up the tab through high rates of unemployment and through the guises of government bailouts, grants and low-interest loans — all of which contribute to crippling levels of government debt. Meanwhile, the 0.1% like Stelios Haji-Ioannou of EasyJet fame emerge relatively unscathed.
To its credit, the insurance industry is already discussing the potential for new…
