More on insurance and catastrophic events: can we expect de facto limits on liability recoveries?

Kenneth A. Solomon

Expert InsightsPublished 1978

Reviews large technological systems to locate situations that have potential for catastrophes in which liabilities exceed insurance or assets, thereby imposing de facto limits on liability recoveries. Such events as an LNG explosion in a population center, or massive nuclear reactor accident near a population center are found to involve potential liability far exceeding available resources, whether they be insurance, corporate assets, or the annual budget of the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration. Liability limits, whether by law or de facto in nature, appear to be prevalent in society. They represent a problem which should be solved in a coordinated way, and include other issues that have been raised, such as the possible loss of incentive for safety improvements.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1978
  • Pages: 32
  • Document Number: P-5940

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Solomon, Kenneth A., More on insurance and catastrophic events: can we expect de facto limits on liability recoveries? Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1978. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5940.html.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND paper series. The paper series was a product of RAND from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.