PCRIC Gains Support from Fiji Government Official for its Work in the Region

Earlier this week, the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) team met with the Assistant Minister for the Fiji Ministry of Women, Poverty Alleviation & Children, Honorable Sashi Kiran.

During the meeting, the Hon. Assistant Minister expressed enthusiasm towards PCRIC’s role and services in the Pacific region, particularly its parametric insurance products for tropical cyclones and earthquakes / tsunamis. Additionally, she was delighted with PCRIC’s upcoming launch of new products for drought and excess rainfall.

The Hon. Assistant Minister, who has primarily worked in the NGO sector, revealed her concern for the impacts of disasters on rural communities. She expressed her belief that insurance payouts could also provide relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction to these affected communities.

She stressed the importance of the Fiji Government taking out disaster covers and consulting with development partners to explore the possibility of using a portion of their disaster relief funding to fund insurance premiums, which could yield higher payouts if triggers are activated.

Her comments are in-line with one of the resolutions from the recent Fiji National Economic Summit, which acknowledged that Fiji must intensify its efforts to combat climate change and loss of biodiversity. The summit underscored the need to mainstream climate change adaptation strategies across all development sectors according to the 2050 Blue Pacific Strategy.

The Hon. Assistant Minister also acknowledged PCRIC’s efforts in meeting with the Fiji Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Hon. Biman Prasad, and the Assistant Minister at the Fiji Office of the Prime Minister Hon. Sakiusa Tubuna, to share the work that PCRIC is undertaking for the region.