The nuclear exclusion: Preparing for the unthinkable

It is estimated that if a nuclear warhead coming from Russia were heading to the United States, people would have roughly 30 minutes to find shelter. (Photo: Ryland West/ALM)

As someone who grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s, it came as a bit of a surprise to learn that my children had never been through a nuclear drill. They had never heard terms like fallout shelter, duck and cover, or nuclear winter. On one hand, it shows that after the fall of the Soviet Union, our society viewed the cold war as over. On the other hand, why did we ever lose sight of the tragic outcomes that could happen in a nuclear war?

With the Russian incursion in Ukraine, perhaps it is time to revisit how to best be prepared for the worst. Why does this matter to insurers? For starters, many people don’t realize that a nuclear explosion isn’t covered under most insurance policies. With that being said, if there ever were to be a nuclear war, insurance coverage will probably be the least of our worries, although one could argue that a properly prepared disaster plan is the best insurance one could hope for.