Liability and insurance of nuclear accident risk the swiss regulation in perspective

In this paper we argue that compulsory insurance of nuclear liability should be extended. Most countries have explicit limitations of operators' liability, which also lie at the heart of international conventions. Moreover, there are implicit limitations imposed by operators' inability to pay where unlimited and strict liability applies. These limitations result in static and dynamic inefficiencies because they allow nuclear plant operators to eschew the risk costs of a severe nuclear accident. Extension of compulsory insurance, however, will exacerbate problems of market failure in insurance: National insurance pools have monopolized the business and are expected to exercise market power. Furthermore, their capacity may fall short of required coverage. Bringing in capital market investors can alleviate these problems. Nuclear liability insurance data from Switzerland provides statistical evidence in support of our main points. (authors)