Vanuatu and PCRIC Forge Stronger Ties for Enhanced Disaster Risk Protection
Subsequent to productive discussions with the Vanuatu delegation during the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM), PCRIC’s CEO, Mr. Aholotu Palu, and Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Richard Poulter, met in Port Vila with the Hon. Minister of Finance and key technical staff leadership to explore redesign of the nation’s disaster risk insurance plan.
Discussions placed a priority on fine-tuning policy triggers to ensure they effectively facilitate payouts when key parameters are met, thereby enhancing the value of insurance to the nation. Attention was also given to the opportunity which now exists through the Global Shield Solutions Platform (GSSP) to access premium subsidy funding made available by a generous donation from Germany.
Given Vanuatu’s history of high exposure to damage from cyclones, the Hon. Minister acknowledged the importance of securing policies with PCRIC to help reduce the associated financial risk the nation faced on each occasion. With that, he reinforced the commitment of his team to collaborating fully with PCRIC throughout the policy redesign process, confirming full support in the lead-up to the annual policy renewal date in November.
The PCRIC mission team also touched on the benefits of Vanuatu’s attendance in the next Council of Members meeting. This would provide leadership with the opportunity to contribute directly to the strategic direction of PCRIC’s operational and policy development, and help in ensuring the business was in the best position possible to meet the climate and disaster risk finance needs of Vanuatu and all other regional nations.
A significant additional initiative that arose was the Hon. Minister’s interest in exploring options for protection of some of Vanuatu’s key public assets held within State Owned Enterprises. Of particular interest was development of a policy to cover the nation’s submarine cable network, similar to the successful work concluded with PNG DataCo Ltd, and the policy development work currently under way for the Tonga Cable Limited.
Parties concluded this round of discussions with a clear agenda of the way ahead and firm target for supporting Vanuatu’s take-up of a new policy in November, 2024.
