Sometimes, a little distance is needed to see things more clearly. There’s an interesting book that offers a look at the financial crisis, in the form of articles written at the start of the crisis, during it and after.

The passage of a little time offers some perspective, as does the fact that the articles are published by the International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. But this isn’t about Europe and the global marketplace. The focus is on the credit crisis in the United States and the impact it had on insurance.

So, here’s a little leisure reading if you prefer thrillers that are real, not pulp fiction. It’s not an academic text, but it is somewhat detailed. There’s also a section that is a chronology of the financial crisis. Some of the chapters are:

• The role of insurance and why it is different from banking
• Credit crisis and insurance—A comment on the role of the industry
• The global crisis: how could it happen?
• Everything you wanted to know about the crisis... but were afraid to ask
• The credit crisis and the insurance industry—10 Frequently Asked Questions

Click on the link below for the PDF.

Anatomy of the Credit Crisis (The Geneva Association, PDF, 152 pages)

May 4, 2010