Nanotechnology: The Challenge of Regulating Known Unknowns

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Id. A second reinsurer, Allianz, believes that it is not appropriate at this time to consider a general exclusion of nanotechnology from insurance coverage because Nanotechnologies cover a very broad field with far from uniform characteristics. The terminology used in nanotechnologies is very broad. No uniform language or set of definitions exist; the sheer variety of nanotechnologies and their applications across broad sections of industrial segments mean a positive diversification effect for insurance portfolios; and the exposure of the general population to nanotechnologies is still comparatively low. Allianz website, “Small Sizes that Matter: Opportunities and Risks of Nanotechnologies” (2005): at 5, available at <http://www.allianz.com/azcom/dp/cda/0,796786-44,00.html> (last visited September 15, 2006). [hereinafter Opportunities and Risks].

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