Press Releases

Commenting on the recent US–Pacific Islands Country Summit held in Washington DC, CEO of the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC), Mr. Aholotu Palu, said that with the release of the first ever Pacific Partnership Strategy for the United States, the Summit represented a true watershed moment in US relations with the region.

Following the extraordinary decision by the World Bank to close, with effect from the end of 2022, the PCRAFI project that supported the Pacific Islands region’s only sovereign disaster risk insurer, senior company representatives and the Board of Directors of the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) met in Auckland last week to chart a new course for the company.

As the region’s own specialist provider of sovereign Disaster Risk Management solutions for Pacific Island countries, the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) was concerned to hear of the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake which struck Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Sunday morning.

The Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) team was invited to the launch of the new parametric microinsurance product by the Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme (PICAP) administered by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).

At the recent Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) sponsored by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, attendees were captivated by a unique presentation by the region’s Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC).

The Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) is earnestly preparing for a re-launch of the organization at this year’s Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) after being given the green light by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to host a side event.

The Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) team are currently in Tonga on a joint mission with representatives from both the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and the UN Capital Development Fund through the Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme (PICAP).

The Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) earlier this week signed an MoU with the University of the South Pacific (USP). The partnership will enable institutional cooperation to promote educational programs that help build capacity and technical knowledge of improved disaster risk finance and management in the region.

The Kiribati government recently declared a state of disaster due to a severe drought experienced by the island nation. The timing of this drought proved to be near prescient having occurred almost immediately after the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) and WTW, co-led a virtual group consultation on PCRIC support for drought challenges in Pacific Island Countries (PICs).