[phonon]

> Insurance firms sometimes cover extremely “long-tail” risks, such as alien abduction insurance.

That's not what "long tail" means in insurance. It does not mean unlikely, it means the claim might need to be paid out years after the period coverage was paid for. (Think current lawsuits about asbestos exposure from the 1970s).

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/longtail-liability.asp

[nradov]

The alien abduction insurance was clearly described as a gag gift.

[phonon]

That's a secondary issue (the writer (CEO?) tried to give an example of a insurance policy that covers a very remote event). So fine, doubly nonsensical.

I would have also done a separate article separating paying premiums to the carrier from the carrier paying out claims. Those are basically two totally different parts of the insurance company, with different systems (usually) and definitely from different bank accounts.

[devnulloverflow]

Well, maybe the aliens will keep returning to earth and at unpredictable intervals demanding money in exchange for keeping the hostage alive.