Lloyd’s, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Insurance Task Force have announced they will run two parametric insurance training workshops in Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
The workshops will focus on the development and understanding of parametric insurance, to help support the local development and understanding of parametric insurance for regional insurers, reinsurers, and central banks in Pacific Island countries.
The move follows the September 2023 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the three parties to build the technical capacities of insurers in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and climate-vulnerable countries.
Rebekah Clement, Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyd’s, said the parties were delighted to be able to run the workshops and advance the MOU, adding “Parametric insurance can play a vital role to support sovereign states with the financial impact of climate disasters, unlocking funds at speed and redirecting them into resilience strategies.”
The workshops will cover various key topics, including the insurability of in-country risks, weather and crop yield index insurance, pricing, distribution, operations, and policy.
The aim is to replicate the training model across other regions, including Asia and parts of Africa, after its initial focus on Fiji and the Pacific Islands.
Dirk Wagener, the UN’s Resident Coordinator in the region, said, “Convening the workshop in Fiji and PNG will set the tone for two days of learning, robust discussion, peer-to-peer exchanges, knowledge sharing, and network building that will strengthen the efforts to build climate resilience in the region.”
He also added context about success in the region to date: “Fiji is a global success story when it comes to parametric insurance and the country has made steady strides since the first product that provided cover against tropical cyclones was launched for smallholder farmers, fishers, and market vendors in 2021.”
Governor Ariff Ali of the Reserve Bank of Fiji also commented on the workshops’ role in enhancing local industry capacity: “The training workshops serves to build capacity within the local industry that will undoubtedly improve service delivery and foster greater access to parametric products.”
