The insurance industry has been involved in gaming for decades
Insurance and video games are not a common topic, but the insurance industry has been involved in the gaming world for decades. Over the past several years, gaming has grown from a relatively unpopular pastime to a massive and diverse market, and this means that games have begun to fall under harsh criticism because of their content. In the past, some have tried to blame violent games the reason behind violent behavior. This concept may be affecting the insurance industry and its willingness to provide game developers with the coverage they need.
Independent developer has trouble finding coverage for its game production
Serallan, an independent game developer, recently received an email from an insurance broker that had been tasked with finding appropriate coverage for the studio. In the email, the brokerage expressed regret that it could not find an insurance company that was willing to underwrite the standard product liability insurance that game developers use to protect their products. The broker noted that this may be due to the violent nature of the games that the developer was producing.
New trend may be emerging in insurance industry
Though Serallan was able to eventually find the coverage it needed, this may be the first sign of a new trend emerging in the insurance industry. Some insurers have become quite leery of the game industry in general given recent controversies and the suggestion that games, particularly violent ones, can have a profound impact on human behavior. Insurers that have been serving the game industry for years continue to provide coverage for well established developers, but independent developers may be finding it difficult to get the coverage they need.
Insurers often refuse coverage to companies for a wide variety of reasons
There are many reasons why an insurance company would refuse to provide coverage to a game developer. There could be financial issues associated with providing such coverage. If the insurer foresees significant losses from doing business with a particular company, it may opt to refuse coverage to that company in order to avoid these losses.
