b'Insurance Regulatory | US/NAIC | Insurance After the COVID-19 PandemicNotably, at the hearing, questions arose as to whetherconducted a data call to collect BI insurance infor-a purely insurance-based structure is the best solu- mation. From this data call of 230 insurers, tion for addressing pandemic risks. It was noted thatregulators learned that insurers are unwilling or only approximately one-third of businesses hadunable to underwrite the risk of a pandemic, which property insurance in the first place, prior to thethey described as an enormous coverage gap for COVID-19 pandemic, and most property policiesAmerican businesses and liability for American tax provide only limited (if any) BI coverage. It was alsopayers. The CIPR Program contained three panels. noted by this testimony that two-thirds of businessesThe first panel focused on existing federal insurance would receive no benefit even if a PRIA-like programprograms and lessons that can be learned from had existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.those programs in structuring a pandemic federal Questions arose regarding whether PRIA is the properinsurance program. At this panel, TRIA, National framework to curb the economic impact of pandemicFlood Insurance Program and the Federal Crop risk. PRIA is based on TRIA, which was created toInsurance Program were discussed. The second address the insurability of terrorist attacks. It waspanel considered the current proposals for a pan-noted that although terrorist attacks, like pandemics,demic risk insurance program. These proposals are both unpredictable and can be massively destruc- included PRIA, the BCPP, the Chubb Pandemic tive, terrorism attacks are limited loss events, bothBusiness Interruption Program, Zurichs Pandemic geographically and temporally. Pandemics can be ofRisk Concept and the Business Continuity Coalition indefinite length and geographically expansive. So,recommendations for the pandemic insurance while TRIA may be the starting point of the conversa- solution. The final panel provided an overview of the tion regarding how to structure a federal program, itspandemic risk landscape based on the insurance framework may not be suitable for pandemic risks. Asindustrys experience during the COVID-19 pan-of publication, Congressional discussions are ongo- demic. It was noted that this experience will need to ing, albeit with pressure for pause in action to allowbe considered in structuring a federal program. At for evaluation of the situation once the COVID-19the CIPR Program, the NAIC was unwilling to sup-pandemic is closer to resolution. ported a specific proposal for pandemic risk, but a federal mechanism to close the coverage gap for NAIC Activity pandemic risk was supported.On December 8, 2020, at the NAIC Fall NationalGoing ForwardMeeting, the Center for Insurance Policy andThere is general consensus that as it relates to Research held a special session entitled Pandemicensuring for pandemic risk, law makers, regulators Business Interruption Federal Insurance Mechanismand the insurance industry must plan for a futureLearning from the Past, Thinking About thethat includes these risks and creative, multi-faceted Future to discuss a potential pandemic BI federalsolutions to spreading risk, designing participation insurance mechanism (the CIPR Program). At theand benefits and layered exposure for the insurance CIPR Program, it was stated that, in May of 2020,industry and the federal government. gstate insurance regulators, through the NAIC, 74 GLOBAL INSURANCE INDUSTRY|YEAR IN REVIEW 2020'