Monday, March 21, 2011

The Nuclear Option as an Insurance Risk

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Insurance and the
Nuclear Industry


I drive a 2 litre diesel car and by law I have to pay around €430 a year to insure against all the possible damage I might cause in an accident.

 
Lets just say I could cause €3,000,000 in damage, that would be roughly an insurance figure of €143 per million of insurance.

Do the same Insurance laws apply to the Nuclear Industry?

If the same basic laws were to apply to the nuclear industry in Japan, and the rest of the world, where just one accident could easily permanently displace 200,000 people or more from their homes, lets say 60,000 households. A nominal figure to compensate per household put it at €1,000,000 per home.

Lets lets say the actuaries put the risk cost rates at half the motor industry rates at €70 per million of cover, that would put an insurance figure of €4.20 Million a year on that one reactor complex. Now add to that the medical claims of say 5000 people at and average of €2,000,0000 per person, at €70 per million, that's another €700,000 per year to cover medical claims. Now add in industry and agriculture claims. Lets just say 2000 farms at an average of €4,000,000 each by €70 per million premium, that's another €560,000 in premiums. Then add in another €10billion for industrial claims, and that gives a premium of €700,000. Finally add in an international claim for compensation against contamination of another €10 billion, that give yer another €700,000 in premium.

If International Law dictated that every nuclear installation had to have full liability insurance to cover full compensation of all claims in the event of an accident, including full and comprehensive cover for international liabilities, it would no doubt shift the emphasis on how valuable nuclear energy actually is.

$10 million Insurance premium for Nukes!

The total insurance premium per year could be some €6.9 Million Euro or more per installation. Would a compulsory insurance premium of $10,000,000 per year put manners on the nuclear industry??



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