PCRIC Brings Pacific Expertise to the Caribbean

PCRIC strengthened cross-regional leadership in disaster risk finance through a lecture delivered live on-line by its Strategic Adviser, Dr. Nicolas Pondard, to students of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) at the University of the West Indies.

Part of a 5-month course covering “Fundamentals of Disaster Risk Financing for Advancing Sustainable Development of SIDS”, the session enabled students to compare how two leading sovereign risk pools, PCRIC in the Pacific and CCRIF in the Caribbean, design and operate parametric insurance solutions in their respective regions.

Dr. Pondard’s lecture covered core operational and policy considerations, including how premiums are set and how coverage is structured, providing governments with access to support following disaster events through rapid, pre-arranged financing mechanisms. The lecture concluded with an engaging Q&A session, reflecting strong student interest in PCRIC’s work and the hands-on application of DRF across Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The engagement marks an early milestone in a growing PCRIC–CCRIF collaboration focused on trans-regional learning and knowledge exchange. By strengthening technical dialogue between the Caribbean and the Pacific, PCRIC is reinforcing its role as a regional leader in DRF and advancing valuable education pathways that build the next generation of risk financing practitioners in the region.