In the last decade one can identify several accidents which can be classified as large scale accidents of a catastrophic dimension. After such a catastrophe the compensation of victims is of crucial importance and governments often intervene in this compensation. However, the organization of...

We distinguish among three types of actions that can be taken to alleviate the consequences of natural disasters: precautionary efforts (made ex ante), relief efforts (made in the immediate aftermath of a disaster), and recovery efforts (made ex post). We argue that recognizing this distinction...

Under the influence of climate-related extremes, the world is exposed to more and more catastrophe risks. Regulation by insurance may help realize the goal of mitigating catastrophe risk and the following losses. I explore five regulatory tools — risk-based pricing, contract design, loss...

Although the insurance industry demonstrates a growing concern about the severe rise in losses from natural disasters, only about one third of all potential victims have in fact purchased first-party catastrophe insurance. Although first-party insurance has several advantages, we find that there...

Disasters happen all the time. Since early mankind natural disasters like bush fires, heavy rainfall, flooding, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have threatened mankind’s very existence. Of a more recent date, mostly since the Industrial Revolution, mankind has also been threatened through...