But what now? An event such as this, which intentionally strikes at a number of our soft spots simultaneously, will surely provoke some kind of response. The bombing reminds us all of the risk of terror, though it is not immediately clear what the insurable context of this particular incident will be. From a risk management perspective, the Boston marathon bombings only underscore what every runner has known for a long time: that urban marathons are especially difficult events to secure and to police.   

Can there even be the same kind of marathoning if all who would cheer the runners must be screened and kept at a safe distance? At this point, one can easily imagine that proper event security would demand it. Or is the proper risk management for this to accept that marathons are events of vulnerability, and that the way to react to terror is to not let it change us? Given that this act appears to be the act of homicidal mania rather than organized terrorism, that might be the way to go. Easy for me to say, of course…I have not yet run in a marathon, let alone one after the Boston bombing. Nor have I taken the responsibility for thousands of runners.

John Hancock has supported the Boston Marathon for many years. I can only imagine the pride that firm has taken in being such a prominent partner of what is truly one of the world's top athletic events. The suddenness of the tragedy underscore in brutal terms the tragedy we all must safeguard against, be it an act of shocking violence, or the many other ways in which a family might find itself cut adrift from normality, suddenly cast upon a sea of grief and uncertainty. I have always admired how professionals in the life & health world view such events, as they maintain a special perspective on this. Theirs is the business of deeply personal loss, and at a time like this, they are some of the few who can process this on a level many cannot.

In the insurance world, there never is destruction. There is only loss. And even in a total loss, there is always recovery. Regeneration. And so it will be with Boston and its magnificent marathon, and with all those who have been so heartsick over the bombing. The humanity that was wounded will be the very thing that carries on and runs that next mile. And the mile after that, and the mile after that. For in the human race, there is no finish line. There is only the road, and the strength to go on, no matter how hard the course.

Bill Coffin is the Life and Health Group Editor in Chief for Summit Business Media. He can be reached at [email protected].