silent pandemic

For Berkshire Hathaway, the insurance and reinsurance underwriting conglomerate led by Warren Buffett, it’s not simply a question of carefully crafted exclusions when it comes to pandemic risks, for the so-called Sage of Omaha is perfectly happy to underwrite it, as long as the price is right.

Head of PCS, Tom Johansmeyer, tells Artemis that there’s a real sense across the marketplace that certain large, complex insurance towers are going to be affected by silent pandemic risk.

We’ve launched a new audio and video feature that will see us talking with leaders of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance industry and broadcasting them via our YouTube channel.

Silent pandemic risk as akin to silent cyber. It’s an exposure that is potentially secreted deep inside numerous lines of insurance and reinsurance business, with claims governed by contractual fineries and wordings. As a result it’s an exposure that is hard to quantify, but that may require hedging.