Marsh Report Makes Case For Public-Private Pandemic Risk Solution

New York   |   June 02, 2020

Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor, today published a new report that makes the case for a public-private pandemic risk solution.

“We believe a pandemic risk solution is needed now to accelerate our economic recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic and provide much-needed protection against future pandemic risks,” said John Doyle, President and CEO, Marsh. “Our goal is to bring all stakeholders together and create the right economic incentives so insurance can serve its traditional function of mitigating risk.”  

In the report, Pandemic Risk Protection: Accelerate Recovery and Build Resilience Now Though Public-Private Partnership, Marsh notes that a range of existing public-private risk-pooling models can be used to create a solution. However, the US government is the only entity with the financial resources to help close the pandemic coverage gap.

Policyholders, brokers, and insurers also have roles to play in bending the risk curve so that pandemic events can be better anticipated and their impacts better contained, Marsh said.

Insurers can play a critical role in developing and encouraging the adoption of pandemic loss reduction measures, while businesses will need to develop a clear view of their exposure to epidemic risk and create mitigation plans that include risk assessments, response plans, and insurance coverage, the report says.

Over time, Marsh says, the right public-private risk program can spur new technologies, ways of working, services, insurance products, and processes to ultimately chip away at the enormous losses associated with pandemics. That, in turn, can help make pandemic risk more manageable and enable the economy to build the necessary resilience it needs for the future.

About Marsh

Marsh is the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor. With around 40,000 colleagues operating in more than 130 countries, Marsh serves commercial and individual clients with data-driven risk solutions and advisory services.  Marsh is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. With annual revenue over $17 billion, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment through four market-leading businesses:. Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer  and Oliver Wyman.  For more information, visit mmc.com, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter or subscribe to BRINK.