Industry participants say the proposed framework, set to launch by 2028, could reduce costs, improve operational efficiency and support broader adoption of captives and insurance-linked securities.
Researchers say insurers, reinsurers and governments must balance competing trade-offs around risk sharing, pricing and mitigation to sustain disaster coverage.
The initiative could redirect NZ$600-700m (US$360-420m) annually towards natural hazard risk reduction while shifting fire services funding to the Crown.
As mainland Southeast Asia braces for a potential return of El Niño in 2026–27, SEADRIF and the FAO have rolled out an index-triggered drought insurance pilot in Laos.
The payout marks Nepal’s first use of a parametric drought insurance policy, stakeholders said, with funds supporting food aid and farming tools in Bajura district.
