Citation

Bruggeman V, Faure M, Haritz M. Disasters 2013; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Model Product Manager, Risk Management Solutions, United Kingdom Professor of Comparative and International Environmental Law, Maastricht University, Academic Director of the Maastricht European Institute of Transnational Legal Research (METRO) and the Ius Commune Research School, Professor of Comparative Private Law and Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Academic Director, Rotterdam Institute of Law and Economics (RILE), The Netherlands Legal Advisor and Head of the Presidential Office at the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-7717.2011.01233.x

PMID

21371084

Abstract

The paper presents a comparative analysis of the development and present state of compensation for victims of catastrophes in Belgium and the Netherlands. These two neighbouring countries have both seen legislative changes in this field in recent years, albeit with different outcomes. The paper thus analyses to what extent the two compensation scheme structures allow for conclusions as to the comparative benefits of a comprehensive insurance scheme for natural disasters. From the perspective of law and economics, the evolution of private insurance and public intervention through compensation funds, the preference for private or public solutions and the actual financing of these are examined. Drawing on practical experience, such as the case of flood risks, the solutions are tested in view of incentive-based financing. The paper concludes that the private insurance market is more developed in Belgium than it is in the Netherlands, where the reform process has not yet ended.

Language: en