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Insurance and risk transfer

The process of formally or informally shifting the financial consequences of particular risks from one party to another, whereby a household, community, enterprise or State authority will obtain resources from the other party after a disaster occurs, in exchange for ongoing or compensatory social or financial benefits provided to that other party. Risk insurance is a key disaster risk management activity.

This theme covers aspects of disaster risk financing, catastrophe bonds, financial resilience, and micro-insurance.

Latest Insurance & risk transfer additions in the Knowledge Base

Volunteers engaging in road repairs in a busy Moroccan neighborhood.
Update

Morocco’s Integrated Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Program shifted the country from disaster response to risk prevention, financing >300 resilience projects, protecting millions of people and strengthening disaster risk financing by 2025.

World Bank, the
Flood insurance in Dutch unembanked areas: quantifying the interplay between climate change, urban development, and adaptation strategies thumbnail
Documents and publications

The authors develop an integrated framework that combines hydrodynamic modelling, damage assessments, and premium estimates to quantify flood risk and insurance viability under coupled climate and socioeconomic change.

Journal of Flood Risk Management (Wiley)
Colorful coral reef ecosystem teeming with marine life.
Update

Willis, a WTW business, and the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund announced the launch of a market-first parametric insurance program to protect Caribbean coral reefs. Capacity is to be provided by Liberty Mutual, supported by the InsuResilience Solutions Fund.

InsuResilience Solutions Fund
Farmers in the Americas working in the field
Update

Colombian government has contracted five parametric agricultural insurance policies covering 14,402 smallholder farmers, benefitting up to 41,600 people across their households in five departments for up to US$20.14 million in coverage.

Insurance Development Forum
Update

According to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) , only about a quarter of European catastrophe losses have historically been insured, with the remainder being borne by households, businesses and public finances.

Moody's
Update

Frequent, expensive disasters are testing Europe’s ability to protect itself against the cost of global warming.

Politico
Natural catastrophes in 2025: The persistent rise of wildfire and storm risk thumbnail
Documents and publications

This report presents an analysis of global natural catastrophe losses in 2025 and the drivers behind the persistent rise in disaster risk for insurance markets and societal resilience.

Swiss Reinsurance Company (Swiss Re)
Arm of a man in a business suit holding an umbrella
Update

The protection gap — the difference between total economic losses and the share that insurance actually covers — is a widening, systemic risk. Here is why it matters, who absorbs the cost, and how catastrophe models can help bring it into view.

Moody's
Aerial view of the north Selangor flood following heavy rainfall, Malaysia (2021)
Update

Climate-related disasters are becoming one of Asia’s most important economic and fiscal challenges.

Asian Development Bank Institute
paper-5.pdf thumbnail
Documents and publications

This working paper examines how Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten finance disaster recovery and why they make limited use of modern disaster risk financing instruments despite their high exposure to natural hazards.

Cornerstone Economics
Uneven adaption: Insurance pricing and household climate resilience thumbnail
Documents and publications

The authors investigate how home insurance pricing affects household investment in climate adaptation.

Brookings Institution, the
Update

IAG finds Australians remain underprepared despite widespread heatwave impacts

Insurance Business Online, Key Media
Woman carries a bowl of bananas on her head in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Update

The Dominican Republic has become the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to integrate parametric insurance into its adaptive social protection system; providing rapid financial support to households when extreme rainfall or wind events occur

Insurance Development Forum
Update

Moody’s finds that increasing severity and frequency of hazards, and the sunsetting of the UK reinsurance plan Flood Re in 2039, could widen public sector exposure.

Moody's
Zambia crisis and disaster risk financing diagnostic thumbnail
Documents and publications

The objective of this report is to summarize Zambia’s financial preparedness to crises and disasters at the sovereign, firm, and household levels. In this context, the focus is on the fiscal implications of the emergency response to shocks for the GRZ.

World Bank, the
Protecting value in at-risk developments: The case for property flood resilience (PFR) thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study explores how surface water flood risk affects developers’ financial exposure during construction and sales, and whether cost-effective property-level resilience measures can reduce these impacts across different housing development scenarios.

Public First
Children of slum women sit in a group on the floor at a Delhi daycare.
Update

HERA and its partners launched HERA Materna, the world’s first ever heat-pregnancy insurance program. Extreme heat is threatening pregnant women on the frontlines of the climate crisis, and until now no financial protection has existed to shield them.

HERA (Climate Resilience for All)
A review of published IDF parametric case studies: Findings and takeaways thumbnail
Documents and publications

This paper provides a summary review of the collection of parametric case studies. The paper highlights key takeaways from the case studies, including how solutions are already delivering rapid liquidity after disasters, & closing critical protection gaps

Insurance Development Forum
Investigating the deployment of Takaful for farmers in flood and drought-prone regions in Nigeria thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study has investigated the deployment of takaful for farmers in flood- and drought-prone regions in Nigeria. The study used a quantitative research design with cross-sectional survey data from smallholder farmers in some climate-prone zones

The International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science
Arm of a man in a business suit holding an umbrella
Update

The ICP represents a step in the right direction. It marks a departure from how major climate risk finance initiatives have typically operated, building inclusive planning into its architecture rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Centre for Disaster Protection
Update

As climate change risks increase, insurance premiums are rising, making coverage unaffordable for many, especially those in high-risk areas.

Climate Adaptation Platform (CAP)
Update

While the global natural catastrophe insurance protection gap is estimated to have risen to US $424 billion in 2025, new research from Swiss Re suggests that insurance coverage is growing broadly in line with the increasing catastrophe exposure.

Swiss Reinsurance Company (Swiss Re)
Update

The Guatemalan Red Cross has activated its early action protocol (EAP) for drought. It is now implementing pre-agreed actions to support those at risk from this hazard, which is linked to the emerging El Niño event.

Anticipation Hub
Meetings and conferences
Online
Organized by the Bank of Greece in the context of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR project, this workshop will focus on the role of the insurance sector in supporting climate change adaptation and strengthening resilience.
Update

When drought indicators in Lao PDR cross a defined level, money moves. That is the core logic behind a new anticipatory drought insurance pilot launched May 29, 2026.

Insurance Business Online, Key Media
Embedding risk finance in integrated national financing frameworks thumbnail
Documents and publications

This policy note explores how Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) can support more resilient financing by embedding climate risk diagnostics and climate disaster risk finance and insurance (CDRFI) mechanisms into national financing strategies

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Update

While federal flood insurance subsidizes risky coastal and waterfront development for wealthier homeowners by lowering the cost of living in these areas, many low-income households in flood-prone areas remain stuck with risky properties and little help.

Conversation Media Group, the
Strengthening the linkages between disaster risk finance and adaptive social protection – Why and how it matters thumbnail
Documents and publications

This policy note builds on the practical and operational experience of the World Bank Group and World Food Programme to offer an overview of why and how strengthening the linkages between disaster risk finance (DRF) and adaptive social protection matters.

The Global Shield against Climate Risks
World Food Programme (WFP)
World Bank, the
light-touch evaluation of the Global Shield Against Climate Risks' in-country process thumbnail
Documents and publications

This report presents an independent evaluation of its In-Country Process - the multi-step pathway through which countries identify their priorities and request support - drawing on case studies from Pakistan, Costa Rica and The Gambia.

Centre for Disaster Protection
Update

In California, “uninsurable” means wildfire premiums jumping from $2,500 to $20,000 a year, or insurers refusing to renew policies altogether. In rural Mozambique, it means families having no financial safety net when a cyclone destroys their home.

Centre for Disaster Protection
Update

US residential flood exposure poses a growing credit risk, given large insurance protection gap.

Moody's
Thin cows walking on dry cracked earth looking for fresh water due lack of rain.
Update

As of October 2025, 6,728 people in Magude have benefited from improved water access, including 2,561 women. Approximately 8,797 cattle have benefited from improved water access, and 1,045 households received food assistance during drought periods.

African Development Bank
Disaster risk financing in the Pacific: a landscape study of systems, instruments, and enabling conditions thumbnail
Documents and publications

This working paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the disaster risk financing landscape across the Pacific.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Unlocking climate risk insurance: The role of public development banks thumbnail
Documents and publications

This paper explores the different types of partnerships thatPublic Development Banks can pursue with private insurers to increase coverage that supports climate goals in EMDEs.

Climate Policy Initiative (CPI)
Training course
Online
Learn how insurance can drive progress toward the SDGs, highlighting the tangible contributions of insurance companies and their role in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through transformational innovations and partnerships.
  • SDG Academy
Rethinking how India adapts to extreme heat thumbnail
Documents and publications

A new white paper from the Salata Institute's Climate Adaptation in South Asia research cluster brings together perspectives to examine how extreme heat is reshaping life and livelihoods across India.

Harvard University
Mapping potential funding sources for ecosystem-based adaptation insurance premiums thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study presents an exploratory, legitimate, and fiscal analysis of potential public financing pathways that can enable LGUs to pay premiums for parametric insurance schemes aimed at protecting and restoring mangrove and marine ecosystems.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Scaling up investment for a resilient power sector: the role of robust disaster-risk financing thumbnail
Documents and publications

This Live Wire delves into the insurance prong of the 5 I’s strategy in the context of power system resilience.

World Bank, the
Update

In a period of unprecedented risk complexity, the insurance industry can help transform systemic uncertainty into a foundation for sustainable growth.

World Economic Forum (WEF)
Disaster risk financing term sheet: Debt pause clauses thumbnail
Documents and publications

This Term Sheet covers the key terms and conditions of debt pause clauses available from six Multilateral Development Banks and three bilateral creditors.

Centre for Disaster Protection
View over the banana market in Uganda, men are carrying bananas on their bicycle.
Update

Financial institutions can integrate physical climate risk into credit & investment decisions, deploy capital through mainstream debt & equity products, and design innovative instruments such as contingent finance & resilience bonds to grow their business

World Bank, the
Análisis de genero e inclusión social en la protección financiera y mecanismos de aseguramiento frente al riesgo climático y de desastres en el Perú thumbnail
Documents and publications

La evidencia internacional muestra que los impactos del cambio climático y los desastres no son neutrales al género.

The Global Shield against Climate Risks
Gender analysis of climate and disaster risk finance and insurance in The Gambia thumbnail
Documents and publications

This report analyses the extent to which gender considerations are currently integrated into Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) in The Gambia, identifying key challenges and gaps.

The Global Shield against Climate Risks
Gender analysis of climate and disaster risk finance and insurance in the Philippines thumbnail
Documents and publications

This analysis examines how gender is mainstreamed across key Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) related policies and programmes in the Philippines.

The Global Shield against Climate Risks
Gender in climate and disaster risk finance and insurance in Bangladesh thumbnail
Documents and publications

This analysis attempts to map the current climate and disaster risk finance and insurance (CDRFI) policies and programmes, provide diagnoses of systemic gender gaps, and formulate evidence-informed recommendations in Bangladesh.

The Global Shield against Climate Risks
Gender analysis of climate and disaster risk finance and insurance in Rwanda thumbnail
Documents and publications

This publication constitutes a gender analysis of climate and disaster risk finance and insurance in Rwanda.

The Global Shield against Climate Risks
A systematic review of nature-positive climate risk transfer and financing instruments thumbnail
Documents and publications

This study examines nature-positive climate risk transfer and financing instruments that support disaster risk reduction through nature-based solutions, addressing critical gaps in climate and nature finance .

Communications Earth & Environment (Nature)
Fisherman on Malawi lake, near Monkey bay tow
Opportunities

The GRMA aims to fill critical model and data gaps and enhance (sub-)sovereign climate and disaster risk assessment capabilities. This Call for Proposals (CfP) reflects the gaps and needs identified and co-defined together with country partners.

InsuResilience Solutions Fund
Forest in California with panoramic aerial wildfire is burning trees smoke fire dry grass
Update

In 2025, secondary perils – among them wildfires, severe convective storms and floods – accounted for a record 92% of total global natural catastrophe insured losses of USD 107 billion.

Swiss Reinsurance Company (Swiss Re)
People sitting during flooding in Liberia
Update

Africa’s rising climate shocks are eroding development gains. The article argues that disaster risk financing — especially ARC’s parametric insurance — helps governments respond faster, protect vulnerable communities and safeguard long‑term growth.

World Economic Forum (WEF)