PCRIC makes a Crucial Appeal for Premium Support from the Global North during the UN Secretary General’s Special Meeting on Loss and Damage held in New York on September 20th, 2023

While in New York, the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) CEO, Mr. Aholotu Palu, delivered an intervention at the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Meeting on Loss and Damage.

In his address, Mr. Palu explained PCRIC’s establishment in 2016 was by Pacific leaders aiming for scalability in providing parametric risk pooling insurance products to Pacific nations. Aligned with the overarching theme of the event “to accelerate actions on adaptation and loss and damage for those who are at the front lines of the climate crisis”, the PCRIC CEO stated that the company has been continually striving towards enhancing its services to integrate into crucial disaster risk financing (DRF) policy dialogues and designs.

He highlighted that PCRIC’s outreach is comprehensive, seeking to shift the region’s mindset from reactive to proactive. Presently, the company is diversifying its product suite to align with the region’s risk profile and supporting the implementation of the L&D agenda.

Mr. Palu further emphasized PCRIC’s aspiration to serve as a significant and effective partner in addressing L&D. The financial protection gap in the Pacific is extensive, leaving a large portion of the population without insurance coverage. PCRIC is actively collaborating with regional and multilateral partners such as the Global Shield to elevate resilience-building efforts in the region which will undeniably fortify its DRF ecosystem.

These initiatives are pivotal, providing not only swift disaster response but also innovative financial solutions, drawing crucial support from stakeholders. This approach is essential for bridging the disaster financing gap in the Pacific.

In conclusion, he shed light on a pressing concern for PCRIC – the challenge of affordable premiums, given the constrained fiscal capacity of island states. It’s evident that smaller island nations, especially in the Pacific, carry an inequitable share of climate change risks. Mr. Palu then appealed to the global north for support in subsidizing premiums.

Watch the full address here at 1 hour and 25 minutes: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k17/k17kggiyei