Abstract

One of the essential functions of the Welfare state is to insure individuals against social risks, particularly those of unemployment and illness. The Covid-19 pandemic with its devastating effects invites us to reflect on the role of the Welfare state as an insurer not only to reiterate its crucial importance but also and mainly to consider the advisability of flanking it with what the article calls “a precautionary Welfare stateµ, i.e. a Welfare state that acts to limit the probability of catastrophic events and, above all, to contain their effects which tend to fall on the weakest segments of society.