Use of insurance by Russian enterprises to offset the risks associated with the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic

The article examines the emergence of new insurance interests in Russia related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research methods: empirical research methods — selective market research, general theoretical methods — analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization. Research hypothesis is so that in Russia, specialized insurance services have appeared, are used, but have not found wide distribution, designed to compensate for the financial risks of a pandemic. The weak use of insurance as a way to protect against the risks of the financial consequences of the pandemic in the Russian economy is due not only to the level of knowledge about insurance, but also to the desire of Russian entrepreneurs to receive state rather than private protection and support. The purpose of the research is to study the preferences of enterprises when choosing mechanisms for compensating the risks of activities in a pandemic, to identify changes in insurance interests, options for their satisfaction and the prevalence of the use of insurance contracts, to identify the priority of obtaining public state support or insurance protection that takes into account the specific interests of the entrepreneur. In summary, the results of a market research of consumer preferences of enterprises in relation to insurance programs as a mechanism for compensating for the damage of the risks of a “coronavirus” infection are presented, the main insurance products, the level of use and factors preventing an increase in the level of insurance are highlighted. It has been proved that there is a significant proportion of enterprises using insurance to minimize the financial consequences of the pandemic, in the context of the prevalence of the paternalistic model of behavior of the owners and management of enterprises in terms of the formation of financial reserves in the context of the coronavirus infection, which leads to a pronounced priority of state financial support over the private form of financial support for enterprises. Taking into account the results obtained, recommendations were formulated for the development of insurance as a private form of support for enterprises in the context of coronavirus infection, allowing to take into account the peculiarities of the paternalistic behavior of the owners and management of enterprises in terms of compensating for “coronavirus” risks.