VOA慢速英语2020--新冠病毒可能永久性的改变保险业

Coronavirus May Change Insurance Industry Forever

Insurance companies are creating products for a world where health emergencies could become the new normal after many businesses struggled during the COVID-19 crisis.

New insurance policies designed to guard against events like the coronavirus health crisis might cost a lot. But they offer businesses -- from restaurants to film production companies -- ways of protecting against work stoppages and losses if another virus strikes.

The providers include big insurance companies and individual brokers¹ adding new products to existing coverage². There also are niche³ players -- businesses that see a chance to fill the space left by major insurers that liken pandemics to wars or nuclear explosions.

For example, a Massachusetts-based company called Machine Cover aims to offer policies next year that would give help during lockdowns. Using computer software and other data sources, the company measures traffic levels around businesses such as restaurants, stores and car dealers⁴.

If traffic drops below a set level, Machine Cover provides the businesses it insures with financial support, whatever the reason. That way the effect of a decrease in business activity is reduced.

The Reuters news agency spoke⁵ with Inder-Jeet Gujral, the company's creator. "This is the type of coverage which...businesses thought they had paid for when they bought their current business interruption policies before the coronavirus," he said.

Machine Cover receives support from insurance provider Hiscox and individual investors⁶, mostly from the insurance and private investment world.

This month, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Carlos Gimenez, ordered local restaurants to close a short time after they had reopened. As a result, the restaurants are now struggling, notes Andrew Giambarba of the Insurance Office of America in Doral, Florida. He wrote insurance policies for restaurants that did not get federal aid when the coronavirus forced their businesses to close.

"Every niche that is dealing⁷ with insurance that is affected⁸ by business interruption needs every new product they can have," he noted⁹.

Pandemic exemptions¹⁰ have helped some insurers remain financially secure, while the insurance industry has largely resisted pressure to provide more coverage for virus-related losses. In fact, some insurers that paid out for event cancellations and other losses have removed pandemics from their coverage.

Last week, British risk management group Airmic said that the pandemic was partly responsible for a lack of basic insurance at a reasonable cost. Airmic added that most of its members were looking at other ways to reduce risk.

Recently, Lloyd's of London insurer Beazley PLC started selling a policy to insure organizers of online music, cultural and business events against technical problems.

These events depend completely on the technology working and a failure can be "financially crippling," said Mark Symons, who works for Beazley.

Since businesses are only now learning how disease outbreaks can affect them, some new insurance products are specially¹¹ made.

Elite¹² Risk Insurance in California has been offering "COVID outbreak relapse coverage" since May. The policies are meant for businesses forced to close a second time, said Jeff Kleid, Elite Risk's creator. The policies are designed around individual businesses and only pay out when one or more conditions are met.

For film and television production companies that could be when an actor gets the virus, forcing them to stop filming. Such policies are costly¹³: a $1 million policy could cost between about $80,000 to $100,000, depending on the terms.

"The insurance ... is costly because it covers a risk that does not have a historical basis for calculating the price," Kleid says.

Some insurers are also working on changes to employee pay and health insurance plans. With millions of workers not expected to return to offices anytime soon, some companies in Asia are preparing insurance policies to protect them from hardship.

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

insurance – n. an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies, or to pay money equal to the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged, lost, or stolen

broker(s) – n. a person who helps other people to reach agreements, to make deals, or to buy and sell property, such as stocks or houses

niche – n. the situation in which a business's products or services can succeed by being sold to a particular kind or group of people — usually singular

pandemic(s) – n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

lockdown(s) – n. a state of isolation¹⁴ or restricted movement established as a security measure

source(s) – n. someone or something that provides what is wanted or needed

interruption – n. the act of causing something to stop happening for a time

exemption(s) – n. the process of freeing or state of being free from a requirement or liability forced on others

management – n. the act or skill of controlling and making decisions about a business, department or sports team

calculating – v. getting a general idea about the value, size, or cost of something

1 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

4 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

11 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

12 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

13 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

14 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。