Climate change poses a significant threat to global economies, with fragile and developing countries being particularly vulnerable. Recent research shows that these nations experience a disproportionate impact, with cumulative GDP losses of around 4% three years after extreme weather events, compared to 1% in other countries. Specifically, droughts in fragile states annually reduce per-capita GDP growth by 0.2 percentage points, emphasizing the urgent need for action to address the challenges faced by vulnerable countries.

The Global Index-Insurance Facility (GIIF) is at the forefront of collaborative efforts with the InsuResilience Global Partnership. Together, we are committed to contributing to the Global Shield against Climate Risks to address climate risks and promote inclusive insurance by bridging protection gaps in vulnerable countries, starting with the Pathfinder ones. Through innovative solutions, we aim to enhance resilience and enable faster disaster response in the productive sectors, ensuring food security and supporting meso and micro-level players. At GIIF, we place a strong emphasis on facilitating public-private policy dialogue and creating a supportive regulatory environment to drive regulatory transformations in vulnerable states. Our goal is to foster inclusive insurance markets and establish sustainable climate and disaster risk financing instruments through active engagements and knowledge exchange among industry stakeholders across Africa and Asia, working collaboratively toward building resilient global communities.

To date, GIIF has successfully contributed to policy and regulatory capacity development projects in various countries, providing support in drafting new laws and helping enact amendments and regulations that directly benefited countries mainly across Africa. This collaborative effort has played a crucial role in strengthening the insurance sector and creating an enabling environment for climate risk insurance. By working closely with industry stakeholders, our team has actively contributed to the development of effective regulatory frameworks that address the evolving challenges posed by climate change as new products, distribution channels or climate data provision systems emerge.

GIIF’s Approach: Collaborative Strategies for Regulatory Transformation

In the current insurance industry landscape, advancing inclusive insurance through collaborative strategies for regulatory transformation is imperative. The role of regulators, supervisors, and policymakers in fragile countries is essential in fostering an enabling environment that promotes insurance-based solutions. To address these gaps, GIIF seeks partnerships with industry stakeholders to exchange information on climate risk insurance and engage in policy dialogue. The goal is to raise awareness and educate governments, regulators, and industry stakeholders on the importance of effective legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks that support climate risk management and inclusive insurance transactions, catering to the needs of the most vulnerable individuals in their respective nations.

GIIF adopts a comprehensive approach to risk management, including national-level disaster risk management and providing regulators with sufficient resources, training, and peer learning for effective design, administration, and enforcement of inclusive insurance regulations. Our continued efforts are directed toward addressing barriers to market access, fostering innovation, and promoting global risk diversification.

For instance, climate risk insurance is a relatively new and evolving concept in many developing countries, and the regulatory framework has yet to catch up, especially in fragile states. Therefore, including climate risk insurance in regulations will play a crucial role in safeguarding vulnerable populations and fostering innovative solutions for a resilient future. Also, gender-inclusive regulation and supervision are essential for increasing financial inclusion by removing barriers, fostering innovation, promoting gender diversity, and improving women's access to insurance.

Leveraging GIIF's knowledge and experience, we provide information on the value of climate risk insurance products as financial derivatives to assist in the implementation of regulations that enhance resilience and provide valuable coverage against climate and disaster risks for vulnerable populations, including women and youth. Regulators need to understand emerging innovative insurance mechanisms to guide necessary reforms and develop regulatory frameworks that meet the growing demand for protection against climate risks caused by climate change and promote inclusive insurance.

GIIF’s Collaboration and Co-Development Initiatives

GIIF has successfully collaborated with key industry stakeholders in various initiatives across countries in Africa, driving regulatory transformation to create an enabling environment that promotes inclusive insurance and provides financial protection to vulnerable farmers. Below are some examples:

• Collaboration with Zimbabwe's Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC): In 2022, GIIF collaborated with IPEC to establish a regulatory framework for climate risk insurance in Zimbabwe, protecting smallholder farmers from weather-related crop damage. This partnership involved risk assessment, the development of a regulatory framework, capacity building, and knowledge exchanges to enhance Zimbabwe's insurance sector.

• Support for Microinsurance and Index Insurance regulations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): GIIF, in collaboration with the government of the DRC, achieved a significant milestone by supporting the development and implementation of Microinsurance and Index Insurance regulations. These regulations aim to protect low-income individuals, especially smallholders, against specific risks and streamline claims settlement procedures.

• Collaboration with the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2II): GIIF collaborates with A2II to assist regulators in understanding climate risk insurance and its link to inclusive insurance. Together, they provide support in implementing effective policy, regulatory, and supervisory frameworks to address climate risks and close protection gaps in vulnerable countries.

• Collaboration in the 'India AgTech Advisory' project: contributing to improving the regulatory framework for AgTechs in India, addressing challenges such as supply chain disruptions, regulatory gaps, data access constraints, and administrative norms, with the goal of increasing turnover and attracting investment in AgTech startups.

Moving forward, GIIF will further enhance partnerships with industry stakeholders, governments, regulators, and policymakers to drive regulatory transformations, ensuring effective and accessible climate risk insurance. This will involve advocating for policy reforms that prioritize resilience and financial protection for vulnerable populations, with a specific focus on addressing the significant need for inclusive insurance in Africa and Southeast Asia, thereby creating an enabling environment for inclusive insurance.