Council of Members Acknowledge the Availability of Premium Finance for Pacific Island Countries in 2023
The Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Foundation (PCRIF) recently held its first Council of Members (CoM) meeting for 2023, which was chaired by Mr. Patrick Langrin, the Secretary of Finance for the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
A major outcome was the collective acknowledgement of the CoM that the PCRIC Board of Directors has approved the use of up to US$6 million of the Company’s capitalisation funds to finance the implementation of its new Business Plan for the period July 2023 – December 2025.
The members of the CoM were also informed that in response to the clear request of the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group Ministers Meeting held during the World Bank Spring Meetings, and after consultation with the World Bank, the €9 million provided by the German government for PCRIC premium subsidies, will now be transferred in one tranche, and will be available to PCRIF Member countries later in 2023 for either the renewal of existing policies or new policies.
These funds will be channeled from the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (PCRAFI) Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) through the Global Risk Financing Facility (GRiF) MDTF and the Global Shield Window of the V20 Joint Multi-Donor Fund (JMDF).
The CoM convenes biannually and is comprised of participating PCRIF member countries (Fiji, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu) and four of the contributing donors (Germany, Japan, UK and USA). This structure provides both Pacific Island Countries and donor partners a voice in key decisions pertaining to the strategy and programs of PCRIC, as well as direct dialogue to discuss priorities and challenges with member countries.
