PCRIC Shares Insurance Solutions Designed for Pacific Nations at the SIDS4 Conference
The fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) held recently in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda provided the opportunity for PCRIC’s Finance & Planning Manager, Mr. Pankaj Singh, to participate in a panel discussion on the theme, “Financing the Front Lines: Scaling Up Effective Climate Finance to Secure the Future of the Blue Pacific.”
Hosted by UN Pacific and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), panel members were able to provide deep insights to conference delegates on the challenges and opportunities for climate and disaster risk finance in the Pacific Islands region.
Mr. Singh highlighted that PCRIC’s engagement with the market had largely been demand- driven and tailored to the risk profile of the region since its inception in 2016. Products addressing the financial impact of earthquake and tropical cyclone had been available since this time, but more recently, based on updated risk profiling of the region, excess rainfall and drought products had now been introduced as well.
“We are glad to have overcome the technical challenges involved in developing these two additional products,” Mr. Singh stated. “PCRIC’s aim is to serve the needs of our region, and since introduction late in 2023, we have already had Fiji take out an excess rainfall policy, and opened up encouraging discussions regarding drought coverage with Nauru, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia,” he said.
In addition to a focus on sovereign-level solutions, as part of its scaling out strategy, PCRIC has recently ventured into the non-sovereign space commencing with development of a bespoke earthquake product for PNG DataCo Limited. A unique, innovative and client-specific product, PCRIC and PNG DataCo have signed off on a world first product providing coverage for submarine fibre optic cables. The same client-specific approach has also led to the development of a reef protection insurance policy for the Vatuvara Foundation in Fiji. This is designed to support natural assets and enhance livelihoods of coastal communities exposed to tropical cyclone impact.
“While PCRIC is proud of these recent developments, it is essential to acknowledge the value of partnership and collaboration in the pursuit of truly fit-for-purpose solutions at the front lines,” said Mr. Singh. “In this regard, we acknowledge the World Food Programme (WFP) which has achieved great outcomes through its work in livelihood support programmes in the African region in collaboration with other insurance risk pool entities. PCRIC is now exploring the pathway to similar outcomes in the Pacific region, with WFP having recently pledged US$1m toward this endeavour. Such a developments aligns well with the ambitions of the PIFS 2050 Blue Pacific Strategy.”
In addition to the collaboration with WFP, PCRIC has recently aligned itself with the Global Shield Solutions Platform (GSSP) and secured €10m of funding to be directed to subsidisation of policy premiums for Pacific Island countries. This removes a significant cost hurdle faced by regional nations with limited resources and which are still accounting for the economic cost of the COVID pandemic.
Feedback from conference delegates reflected great interest in the innovative stance taken by PCRIC and acknowledgement that Pacific SIDS stood to gain many benefits from the progressive, collaborative approach adopted by PCRIC as it endeavoured to deliver workable disaster risk finance solutions for nations of the Blue Pacific.
