{"id":30592,"date":"2026-08-26T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/?p=30592"},"modified":"2026-08-24T15:38:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:38:51","slug":"the-cat-in-the-policy-by-paul-the-insurer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/the-cat-in-the-policy-by-paul-the-insurer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cat in the Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paul the Insurer\" is making the leap from quantum physics to the world of insurance.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What do Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s cat, Heisenberg\u2019s uncertainty principle, and quantum tunneling have to do with underwriting? More than you might think. The latest episode of \u201cPaul the Insurer\u201d takes the leap from quantum physics into the world of insurance, and lands with surprising precision.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re all familiar with this thought experiment<\/a>: A cat is sitting in a box, connected to a mechanism that may or may not release poison. As long as no one opens the box, the cat is both dead and alive at the same time: a state of superposition. Paul, host of the podcast \u201cPaul the Insurer,\u201d takes this image and applies it to a field that, at first glance, has nothing to do with quantum physics: underwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Claim as a State of Limbo<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

A cyberattack may or may not have taken place. A loss may or may not be legitimate. Coverage may or may not apply. As long as an event has not been observed, reported, analyzed, and decided upon, it exists – in a figurative sense – in a state of superposition. According to the episode, the underwriter thus operates much like a quantum physicist: he operates in a world of probabilities, not certainties. Only the moment of assessment brings clarity; before that, everything remains open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The observer effect: Measurement changes the outcome<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

A central theme of the episode is the observer effect. In physics, the mere act of measuring a particle alters its behavior. In insurance, something similar applies: The act of underwriting itself asking questions, requesting inspections, assessing risks, changes the risk being evaluated. Coverage can influence behavior, sometimes for the better, by increasing security; sometimes for the worse, when moral hazard arises. Even predictive analytics help shape what they are actually only supposed to predict. Insurance, according to the pointed conclusion, is not a passive system, for every observation is simultaneously an intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unertainty as a Fundamental Principle<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Heisenberg\u2019s uncertainty principle<\/a> states that the position and velocity of a particle cannot be determined exactly at the same time. Applied to the world of insurance: The exact value of a risk and the probability of its occurrence cannot be determined simultaneously with complete precision. How much is a unique work of art worth? How likely is a coordinated global cyberattack? What will AI-generated content cost in claims in the future? Whoever defines one variable more precisely loses precision in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Probability Breaks Through Walls<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the episode addresses quantum tunneling, the phenomenon in which particles pass through barriers they shouldn\u2019t be able to cross, simply because probability allows it. An exclusion clause that suddenly no longer holds up in court. A risk profile that was classified as low yet still results in a major loss. An unassuming policy provision that becomes the basis for a class-action lawsuit. Probability, the episode\u2019s punchline suggests, finds its way through legal barriers that once seemed insurmountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncertainty as a Constant<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Quantum mechanics has shown that the world is less deterministic than long assumed, characterized by uncertainty, interaction, and unpredictability. The episode concludes that the exact same thing applies to the insurance industry. Those who accept this no longer view risk as a quantity to be calculated, but rather as a state that only takes shape through observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Binci Heeb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to and read: Einstein and the World of Insurance<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s cat, Heisenberg\u2019s uncertainty principle, and quantum tunneling have to do with underwriting? More than you might think. The latest episode of \u201cPaul the Insurer\u201d takes the leap […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5100,5134,5139],"tags":[1902,14651,14660,7751,9761,14659,14658,8572,2237,14661],"class_list":["post-30592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current","category-general","category-podcasts-en","tag-claim","tag-heisenberg","tag-insurance-world","tag-probability","tag-schroedingers-cat","tag-state-of-limbo","tag-uncertainty","tag-underwriting","tag-unsharp-masking","ownarticle"],"acf":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"\"Paul the Insurer\" is making the leap from quantum physics to the world of insurance.","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30592"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30595,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30592\/revisions\/30595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}