PCRIF Council of Members Endorse PCRIC Premium Support Strategy

The recent Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Foundation (PCRIF) Council of Members (CoM) meeting held in hybrid mode in Morocco was of particular significance, as it marked a pivotal moment where the proposed long-term premium financing strategy was presented for approval.

While speaking on this critical element, PCRIC’s Premium Financing Strategist, Mr. Charles Owen explained that “the environment at the moment sets a unique opportunity for the Pacific Island region and for PCRIC to capture the premium subsidies of the needs to get the insurance at the right price level that will allow us to take more countries to buy more coverage and increase the understanding value of this fantastic parametric insurance product.”

Shifting to the Allocation Methodology, he continued saying that “after the region secured the finances from BMZ to cover premium subsidies, our minds turned immediately to how to allocate those subsidies in a fair and transparent way that would encourage disaster risk insurance in the region. This is an issue which all risk pools globally face and is recognized as a challenging issue by the international community.”

By the end of his comprehensive presentation, the premium financing strategy received broad endorsement, marking a significant step forward in propelling PCRIC towards securing long-term premium support funding to bolster its operations across the region.

Additionally, upon the CoM Chair’s request and at the invitation of the PCRIC CEO, Mr. Aholotu Palu during the Risk Pool Summit in London, the meeting saw active participation from key figures in the disaster risk insurance landscape. CEOs from the African Risk Capacity, Mr. Lesley Ndlovu and the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, Mr. Isaac Anthony, generously shared their insights and experiences where their valuable contributions will provide PCRIC with actionable learnings to guide its future endeavors.

Further, the CoM meeting also welcomed Niue as a new member, who joined in the capacity of an Observer, contributing to the collective vision of enhancing disaster risk resilience in the Pacific. The meeting was chaired by the CEO of Samoa’s Ministry of Finance, succeeding the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This position rotates among the Pacific Island countries and forms an integral part of the council,ensuring diverse perspectives and expertise in leading critical discussions and decisions within the PCRIF council. Tonga is slated to assume the role of Chair in the forthcoming CoM meeting.

The CoM meeting convenes biannually, typically aligning with the Spring and Annual Meetings of the World Bank / International Monetary Fund, as it offers an opportune platform for the convergence of donors and participating countries.