The IAA is pleased to announce the publication of the paper Implications of COVID-19 Protection Gaps developed by the IAA’s Pandemics Task Force. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant gaps in the global insurance framework, exposing vulnerabilities in the ability to provide coverage for the unprecedented economic losses associated with the pandemic. This educational paper explores these “protection gaps” and highlights the limitations of the insurance industry across the property and casualty, life, and health insurance sectors as well as governments in responding to a large-scale crisis such as the pandemic. Read more

Actuaries play a key role in addressing these protection gaps by improving stakeholder understanding of insurance limits, developing appropriate risk management strategies and creating solutions. The paper calls for greater collaboration between governments, insurers, and society to build more resilient systems for future crises. This includes exploring public-private partnerships and adjusting insurance frameworks to address catastrophic events. This paper is the second of three papers aimed at creating awareness and increasing recognition for the potential contribution that actuaries as risk experts can make in planning for and managing pandemic-related risks. This paper, along with the first paper titled “Lessons Learned from the Pandemic”, are available on the IAA website.

The Pandemics Risk Task Force will host a webinar on Monday 25 November 2024 at 12 noon UTC to present the work of the Pandemics Task Force. The webinar is free and open to everyone who is interested. Register here.