In 2018, about a year and a half before the first Coronavirus case was discovered, a group of insurance companies got together to offer insurance “for businesses, and perhaps even for countries-that would pay out as soon as an epidemic reached a certain threshold.”

How are those companies and countries faring now that we are in the midst of a pandemic?

They aren’t. No one purchased the insurance.

What will happen once we are out of this pandemic? Will people buy?

If scientists expect pandemics to occur only every 100 years or so, then purchasing such insurance immediately might not be a good decision.

But humans are not rational and not good at thinking about the future.

Will companies buy this insurance for the next 2 generations (in work years) while memory of this pandemic is still fresh in the conscious, and then when the institutional memory of COVID is gone, managers will stop paying? Or, perhaps it will become part of the culture for big companies and maybe countries to compile money in the event of a pandemic? Will this have a lasting effect or will we go back to life as normal?

We make decisions based on our experience. Sometimes we can learn from others’ mistakes, but how many mistakes must we make on our own before we learn?

Estate planning clients who have seen relatives go through hell because their loved ones were disorganized, make sure they get everything very organized.

Clients who had to deal with a headache in probate want to make sure they avoid it.

How can we help future generations plan appropriately?

If someone can figure that out I think you will (and know you should) win a Nobel prize.