Risks and rewards of nanotechnology, from OECD and Allianz
The attitude taken by insurance companies toward nanotech will have a major impact on the field. The OECD and Allianz, an insurance firm, have published a study on the opportunities and risks of nanotechnology (available in pdf format, 2.7 MB). From the announcement: “Allianz believes that it would not be appropriate to create a general exclusion of nanotech from insurance coverage. However, a general ‘wait and see’ attitude is also not an option. As a responsible insurer, Allianz has worked with the OECD in this report to stimulate an early, active and positive response to nanotech-related risks from all parties involved.” Er, good to hear that they aren’t advocating a general exclusion, isn’t it?–CP
June 30th, 2005 at 12:30 AM
The attidute of the insurance industry will certainly be important for many industries in the adoption of any new technology, including nanotech. Basically, whoo will pay if something goes wrong. The current U.S. administration is trying to lower the liability limits for companies developing new technologies and products. It needs to be shown that a company acted irresponsibly and that the users of the product had no reason to have any knowledge of risks associated with using it. Even if a company doesn’t advertise the risks, consumers need to show common sense, too. I wwould be curious to see how something like stem cell therapies (which might involved nanomaterials in various ways) will be viewed by insurance companies, if a benefit is shown to be life saving in most cases, but to have some detrimental side effects in other cases.
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:33 AM
I usually don
June 14th, 2009 at 5:18 PM
I don