Postmodernism: A Threat to Insurance?

Long, John D.

doi:10.1111/1098-1616.00002

Cited by 2 publications

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“…In an article entitled, “Postmodernism: A Threat to Insurance?”John D. Long (2001) expresses the fear that a postmodernist approach to contract analysis could lead the industry to having to cover claims it never intended to, thus rendering premiums insufficient to meet claims that had never been considered. In the first place, I am going to argue that the legal world, at least as far as insurance claims go, has always been postmodernist, and that second, for better or worse the insurance industry has little to fear from this.…”

Section: The Contingent Nature Of Insurance Litigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Postmodernism: The Basis of Insurance

Glenn¹

2003

Risk Manage Insurance Review

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Insurance practices are often depicted as being based on objective, "scientific" knowledge, and informed by carefully modeled rational actor theories that are embedded in clearly written contracts. This article seeks to displace these notions with a more realistic account. From underwriting, to the creation of actuarial tables, the structuring of programs, and contract analysis, insurance practices are predicated on stories of risk and responsibility. By acknowledging and examining these stories, we come to a greater understanding of why insurance practices take the various forms that they do, and also realize the potential for changing them in ways that are more profitable for the companies and more inclusive and protective for the public.

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Section: The Contingent Nature Of Insurance Litigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Professor Long (2001, p. 13) claims that in its extreme form, postmodernism sees the law as incoherent and thus is the product of happenstance. This depiction is indeed extreme.…”

Section: The Contingent Nature Of Insurance Litigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postmodernism: The Basis of Insurance

Glenn¹

2003

Risk Manage Insurance Review

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“… Deconstruction , the subject of Long's (2001) discussion in this journal, and partly responsible for some of the notoriety associated with postmodernism; and Hermeneutics , otherwise known as the philosophy of understanding, which is the focus of this article. Hermeneutics is characterized by an emphasis on the importance of history and perspective in human affairs, and an emphasis on experience, life as it is actually lived.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Deconstruction , the subject of Long's (2001) discussion in this journal, and partly responsible for some of the notoriety associated with postmodernism; and…”

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confidence: 99%

Focusing on the Fundamentals: A Postmodern Perspective on Why Ethics Matters

Berger¹

2003

Risk Manage Insurance Review

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An inquiry into the relationship between ethics and economics calls for a focus on the fundamentals, which I propose to do from a postmodern perspective. It is possible to discern two interrelated branches in this complex and diverse stream of thought:(1) Deconstruction, the subject of Long's (2001) discussion in this journal, and partly responsible for some of the notoriety associated with postmodernism; and(2) Hermeneutics, otherwise known as the philosophy of understanding, which is the focus of this article. Hermeneutics is characterized by an emphasis on the importance of history and perspective in human affairs, and an emphasis on experience, life as it is actually lived. In that sense it has an empirical focus, although quite different from the way that empiricism is understood in economics.From this perspective we will ask why ethics matters for economic theory. Let us begin by noting that economics is concerned with human action. Markets, for instance, reflect human action in the aggregate-at least, that is how markets are modeled, reflecting the results of utility maximization by individuals. Action, in turn, depends on how we understand our situations. The dependence of action upon understanding is recognized in the rational expectations assumption, where agents understand and act on the basis of the model that is being proposed. Thus, a philosophy of understanding should be relevant for economics.The notion of understanding that is presented in hermeneutics can be sketched as follows: First of all, it is how we do things. It is practical know-how and dealing with others. There is a significant practical dimension to understanding, for we say that we really understand something when we demonstrate it in some fashion. On a more reflective note, understanding is also how we see things-that is, how things are and how they should be. But most importantly, and the first two aspects of understanding are contingent upon this, it is how we understand ourselves and our relations with others. In hermeneutics, all understanding is ultimately self-understanding. This translates into our character, or ethos, which can be more or less articulated.Lawrence A. Berger is with Milliman USA, New York, NY;

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Postmodernism: A Threat to Insurance?

Cited by 2 publications

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Postmodernism: The Basis of Insurance

Postmodernism: The Basis of Insurance

Focusing on the Fundamentals: A Postmodern Perspective on Why Ethics Matters

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