Evaluation of risk from a property insurance perspective

Discussions on risk associated with nuclear power facilities usually focus on the nuclear safety risk and the potential public health and safety consequences of a nuclear accident. In addition to the on-site consequences of a nuclear event, insurance companies providing property damage coverage for nuclear power plants must evaluate risks associated with other lesser magnitude, but potentially very significant, events. The paper discusses some of the traditional methods of assessing insurance risk, reviews some of the methods being considered to better quantify insurance risk in the future, and summarizes a few of the more significant historical property damage insurance claims. (author)