Worth - Netflix Film

This film will be released on Nexflix on September 3, 2021. It seems to be a topical film for actuaries - a “biographical” film about the 9-11 Victim Compensation Fund and Kenneth Feinberg. For those too young to remember, Feinberg was in charge of the determining the formula to compensate the victims of 9/11. How much is a life worth?

I’m sure the film will spotlight some good dramatic moments, some tough ethical/moral decisions about the value of a life, some tough decisions about “legal” status of victims relationships. I’m curious, if anything at all is mentioned, about the fact that any VCF payout was reduced by any life insurance payout on the victim.

RANT: in other words, the federal government discourages you from taking personal responsibility and buying life insurance on yourself. You’re better off not spending any dollars on life insurance. Invest the money, blow it on cheap wine, take a nice vacation, anything but buy life insurance. If you choose to buy life insurance, you’ve wasted those premium dollars.

Basically my philosophy with regards to saving for retirement.

The government does this intervention in many instances of disaster. Like hurricanes and bailing those who lack flood insurance out. If you cam guarantee yourself that your only exposure is a catastrophe large enough to merit govt intervention then that is “wasted” to a degree. Most of us aren’t that certain.

It’s on my list of things to do this weekend.

I did watch the show over Labor Day weekend. I sat through the entire thing. A major theme seemed to be that Kenneth Feinberg was a cold-hearted unfeeling emotionless calculator with a spreadsheet (sound like any actuaries we might know?).

I was happy to see that they mentioned some of the flaws in the fund formula.

check out the shot of the “Fix the Fund” website with 59 minutes remaining.
and while you’re at it check out the website https://www.fixthefund.org/ (an actual site devoted to improving the situation related to the Victims Compensation Fund.

(next time put an actuary in charge - not a lawyer)

Also watched it. I enjoyed it enough. Feinberg was not an ideal person for it, but stumbled into being good enough by learning to be more human at some point.

Feels like it would have been an awesome story if told by Michael lewis.

Will this become the new “Billion Dollar Bubble”?