RAND Kenneth R. Feinberg Center for Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation

The RAND Kenneth R. Feinberg Center for Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation, or Feinberg Center, seeks to identify and promote laws, programs, and institutions that reduce the adverse social and economic effects of natural and manmade catastrophes by

  • Improving incentives to reduce future losses
  • Providing just compensation to those suffering losses while appropriately allocating liability to responsible parties
  • Helping affected individuals, businesses, and communities to recover quickly
  • Avoiding unnecessary legal, administrative, and other transaction costs

COVID-19 Liability and Compensation

  • A business person in a suit holding an umbrella in front of a cityscape. Photo by anyaberkut / Getty Images

    Improving the Availability and Affordability of Pandemic Risk Insurance

    Jun 15, 2021

    Restrictions on business activity during the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted proposals for an insurance-based program to cover payroll and expenses during a pandemic. What are the characteristics of these proposals, and how will they perform in key dimensions?

  • Denise Gregory, a staff member at Crown Heights Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, a nursing home facility, receives the COVID-19 vaccine from Walgreens Pharmacist Annette Marshall, in Brooklyn, New York, December 22, 2020, photo by Yuki Iwamura/Reuters

    COVID-19 Vaccine Liability and Compensation in the United States

    Apr 29, 2021

    The United States has two federal compensation systems for people who have been harmed by vaccines. How those systems perform could affect whether some Americans are willing to be vaccinated. This RAND Corporation virtual event explored how those who believe that they have been injured by COVID-19 vaccines in the United States can seek compensation and how the two federal compensation systems differ.

  • Detail of covid-19 vaccine vials and and a syringe. Photo by vladans / Getty Images

    COVID-19 Vaccine Cross-Border Liability and Compensation

    Feb 2, 2021

    In this virtual event, experts discuss the challenges in facilitating the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and how to prevent liability and compensation concerns from affecting the vaccine supply chain and the uptake of the vaccine by the public.

  • Lynn Jones receives the COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, photo by Stephanie Amador/The Jackson Sun via Imagn Content Services, LLC/Reuters

    The Compensation System for Potential Side Effects Is an Important Part of a COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign

    Dec 18, 2020

    Concern about potential COVID-19 vaccine side effects and their consequences may be contributing to Americans' reluctance to get vaccinated. Policymakers and the public should carefully consider what types and levels of compensation for any adverse effects of vaccination are truly fair and appropriate.

  • Bottles containing a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, photo by Max Rode/Adobe Stock

    COVID-19 Vaccinations: Liability and Compensation Considerations for Policymakers

    Sep 21, 2020

    Vaccine development is only one part of the challenge in creating an immunization campaign to stop the pandemic. Once a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is ready, liability and compensation issues could affect its distribution and administration.

  • Woman in a face mask having her temperature scanned, photo by whyframestudio/Getty Images

    Can Workers' Compensation Help Businesses Reopen More Safely?

    Sep 9, 2020

    Workers' compensation typically does not cover common infectious diseases like COVID-19. But in the fight against the pandemic, state policymakers might take a fresh look at aspects of labor and business regulation that usually fade into the background and ask if modest changes hold any potential to reduce disease transmission.

Featured Research and Commentary

  • A business person in a suit holding an umbrella in front of a cityscape. Photo by anyaberkut / Getty Images

    Improving the Availability and Affordability of Pandemic Risk Insurance

    Jun 15, 2021

    Restrictions on business activity during the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted proposals for an insurance-based program to cover payroll and expenses during a pandemic. What are the characteristics of these proposals, and how will they perform in key dimensions?

  • A judge's gavel with bottles of prescription drugs. Photo by CatLane / Getty Images

    Opioid Litigation: What's New and What Does It Mean for Future Litigation?

    Feb 9, 2021

    Amid claims that the pharmaceutical industry used misleading tactics to downplay the known harms of prescription opioids, more than 2,000 plaintiffs have joined the largest civil trial in U.S. history: National Prescription Opiate Litigation (MDL 2804). In this symposium, experts discuss the opioid litigation and its effects on the future of mass litigation.

  • A house burning along Cherry Glen Road during the LNU Lightning Complex Fire on the outskirts of Vacaville, California, August 19, 2020, photo by Stephen Lam/Reuters

    How Wildfire Risks Affect California's Insurance Market

    Sep 14, 2020

    Wildfires in California destroy thousands of structures each year, devastating homeowners and bringing heavy costs for insurers. And without an aggressive GHG emissions control strategy, climate change will likely increase the risk of wildfires in some areas. How will insurance markets respond?

  • Aerial photograph of the devastation caused in the greater New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina, August 30, 2005, photo by Vincent Laforet/Pool/Reuters

    Planning for a COVID-19 Hurricane

    May 4, 2020

    What if Hurricane Katrina had hit during a pandemic? Emergency planners can prepare for this scenario by evaluating current response system capacity, evacuation and sheltering procedures, food and supply issues, and more.

Related Research

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