Notes towards a new ethics of insurance
| Autor | Aaron Doyle e Johannes Brinkmann |
| Páginas | 37-50 |
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NOT E S T O W A R D S A N E W E T H I C S
OF I N S U R A N C E
Aaron Doy le
Johannes Brinkmann
We are honoured to be a small part of this collection marking the 20th anni-
versary of the Brazilian Institute of Insurance Law, given the very import-
ant work the IBDS has done over the last two decades.
As an ingenious way of producing mutual help and fostering a community
of support against many of our worst fears and threats, insurance is and should
be at the very heart of society. Insurance is not just another business, but instead
occupies a very special social role, which the insurance industry should highlight
and celebrate more. However, too often in today’s complex business environments,
insurance has moved far away from its original idealistic roots. In this short essay,
we report on our thinking in progress as we briefly sketch six key themes or com-
ponents that must be addressed in developing an ethics of insurance that acknowl-
edges the distinctive social role of insurance.
Survey findings consistently show a decline in trust in major institutions (e.g.
Edelman Trust Barometer 2020). Even given this, ethical problems in insurance,
and public perception of those problems and mistrust of insurers, have been acute
(ERICSON & DOYLE, 2006; BOURNE, 2013). As Tranter & Booth (2019, p.
206) write, based on recent surveys of consumers in Australia, “insurance compa-
nies rank at the bottom of the pile when it comes to relative institutional trust –
even lower than banks and the Australian government.” Indeed, the role of AIG,
the giant insurer, in precipitated the 2008 financial crisis, receiving a $180 billion
US government bailout, and then paying executives $165 million in bonuses, has
become a negative example in a business ethic textbook (DESJARDINS, 2014).
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