The development,hundreds of years ago,of

题库2022-08-02  34

问题 The development,hundreds of years ago,of ship and cargo insurance was revolutionary.It marked the start of commercial insurance;protection against loss from fire and the perils of the high seas fostered global trade.But in the 21st century the value of companies consists less of solid objects,such as boats and buildings,than of intangible elements,such as intellectual property,data and reputation."Today the most valuable assets are more likely to be stored in the cloud than in a warehouse,"says Inga Beale,chief executive of Lloyd's of London.As the importance of intangibles has grown,so has companies'need to protect themselves against"intangible risks"of two types:damage to intangible assets(eg,reputational harm caused by a tweet or computer hack);or posed by them(say,physical damage or theft resulting from a cyberattack).Companies are not oblivious.Respondents to a survey last year by Aon,an insurance broker,ranked reputation as their top risk and cyber-risk as their fifth.But there is a big difference between how risk managers perceive such risks and how boards do.And if firms do seek insurance against some of these risks,insurers have not exactly been giving them too many novel products.Even when policies are labelled"innovative"it's usually to insure physical assets in the sharing economy rather than intangibles.But in a world where Airbnb,in effect the world's largest hotel chain,owns no hotels and Uber,its largest taxi firm,owns no cabs,such policies are of limited use.Those that do protect assets such as data,IP and reputation are often expensive and custom-made,and include strict exclusions and lrmits.Insurers'caution is understandable.Intangible risks are not only new and comple)c"They're a bit like not-yet-set jelly,"says Julia Graham of Airmic."Their shape constantly changes."Underwriters like to look at past data on events'frequency as well as clients'current exposure-which may be next to impossible when assessing the risk and impact of a cyberattack,or a scandal,which would have been very differently priced even a couple of years ago.But some underwriters are starting to come up with more suitable policies.One is parametric cover,which pays a fixed amount automatically after a defined event,such as a hack.The advantage of such policies is that they can provide cash quickly,meeting an immediate need after misfortune strikes.The downside is that these products tend to cover only a share of damages.Companies also have to do more to protect themselves.Just as insurance was only part of the answer to fire and maritime risk,it is only part of the answer to modern perils.Plenty of cyber-breaches could doubtless have been avoided if software had simply been kept up to date.Insurers need to catch up with the intangible age;but so do their clients.Insurers'caution is in a large part due toA.the lack of funds to develop innovative products.B.the swings in demand for intangible insurance.C.the difficulty in pricing intangible risks.D.the high frequency of cyberattack events.

选项 A.the lack of funds to develop innovative products.
B.the swings in demand for intangible insurance.
C.the difficulty in pricing intangible risks.
D.the high frequency of cyberattack events.

答案 C

解析 第四段①句指出保险公司的谨慎可以理解,②③句解释原因:无形风险不但新且复杂,更像没有定型的果冻,保险商无法像(对待实体资产一样)基于历史数据对其进行评估和定价。可见C.符合文意,the difficulty in pricing概括文中a bit like not-yet-set jelly.…constantly changes.…next to impossibleWhen assessing the risk and impact等。[解题技巧]A.用第三段④句“保险公司未能向客户提供很多创新产品”干扰,但文中并未提及原因在于“缺乏创新资金”。B.用第四段constantly changes干扰,但将变化的主体“无形风险的形状”偷换为“对无形保险的需求”。由第二段可知,对无形风险的投保需求非常大。D.用第四段events'frequency干扰,但此处指“由于无法参考事件过去发生的频率,故难以评估风险”,而非“风险事件高发”。
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