17.12.2019

The InsuResilience Global Partnership Forum 2019

The 3rd Partnership Forum took place in December 2019 at the margins of COP 25. Around 150 people from G20, V20 and other countries, international organisations, civil society, the private sector and academia came together to discuss the role of Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) solutions for strengthening adaptation and resilience, with a particular focus on the Caribbean and Latin America.

Antonio Huertas, Chairman and CEO of MAPFRE, set the scene by stating that the insurance protection gap is substantial in the LAC region, where at least 80 to 90% of total losses are not covered. Mr. Huertas underlined further that public policies are needed to meet this challenge, complemented by private sector risk capital and expertise. This call for cooperation was strongly supported by Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, and Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit. The urgency to act is pressing. Pablo Suarez from the Red Cross Crescent Climate Centre brought in a new perspective, which showed that adding a touch of humour to the seriousness we face helps to overcome crucial communication barriers.

Breakout sessions allowed to dive deeper into four thematic areas: resilient infrastructure, an enabling regulatory environment, CDRFI as a tool for social protection, and gender inclusiveness in CDRFI. The latter received particular attention as the co-chair of the Partnership’s gender working group laid out concrete measures to strengthen gender responsiveness in an interview. To experience concrete projects and initiatives within the Partnership, ALLFED, MiCRO, The Nature Conservancy as well as the START Network presented their work in concise and very engaging presentations. This time constraint led to presentations that were not only very animated but also to the point. The panel discussion on holistic approaches took up the importance of public policies and linking to broader policy targets, a position previously made by Antonio Huertas, to create an environment where solution design is tailored to existing needs. Furthermore, the forum brought together the existing sovereign disaster risk pools. An animated dialogue between the discussants clarified operating principles behind each scheme, and a consensus prevailed to institutionalize this form of dialogue and continue to learn from each other.

The forum closed with powerful statements on keeping approaches collaborative, holistic and of high quality. The InsuResilience Secretariat would like to thank you to all participants and speakers that shaped the forum through their thorough input and lively interaction.