Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Title: Business Continuity Insurance in the Next Disaster
Author-Name: Samuel Hanson, Adi Sunderam, Eric Zwick
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an economic shock unparalleled in
  severity and breadth across the US economy since at least the Great
  Depression. The spring of 2020 saw unprecedented business closures and
  revenue declines. The government response was swift and unprecedented in
  scale. The federal government deployed two novel programs to support
  small businesses: Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Main Street
  Lending Program (MSLP). In an AESG report titled “Business Continuity
  Insurance in the Next Disaster,” economists Samuel Hanson (Harvard
  Business School), Adi Sunderam (Harvard Business School), and Eric Zwick
  (Booth School of Business at The University of Chicago) examine the
  strengths and weaknesses of these programs and draw lessons for future
  recessionary periods.
  
  The authors highlight the unique features of how the COVID pandemic
  affected small businesses and draw important lessons from the
  experiences of the PPP and MSLP. They then examine the economic case for
  business support, concluding that there was a strong economic case for
  business support during the crisis, but limited economic justifications
  for continued assistance during economic recovery. They also describe a
  proposal for a new program, called Business Continuity Insurance, that
  could be in place for future recessions.
Creation-Date: 2021-12-01
Keywords: insurance, risk, public policy, disaster
File-URL: https://www.economicstrategygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Business-Continuity-Insurance-in-the-Next-Disaster.pdf
File-Format: Application/PDF
Handle: RePEc:cxx:wpaper:business-continuity-insurance-in-the-next-disaster