FijiCare Insurance Ltd has disbursed its first ClimateCare parametric microinsurance payment via digital wallets and bank payments for more than 535 insured members amounting to $100,000.

Photo credit: UNICEF Pacific

FijiCare in partnership with United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) led Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Fund (PICAP) launched and piloted this parametric microinsurance product in Fiji to respond to the growing need for climate disaster risk insurance solutions to address economic impacts of natural hazards in the Pacific region - www.fijitimes.com

The Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme (PICAP) - jointly administered by UNCDF, the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) -- aims to address these challenges using innovative financial and insurance instruments. PICAP is supported by the Governments of New Zealand, Australia, India and Luxembourg.

The objective of the Programme is to build the financial preparedness and resilience of low-income households against climate hazards from the ground up in PSIDS. It has a specific focus on the agriculture, fisheries, tourism and retail sectors and cross-cutting focus on women, youth, people with disabilities and MSMEs.

This is because the impact of climate disasters is most acutely felt at the micro and meso levels. When a cyclone or flood hits the region, it is the incomes, livelihoods and financial stability of farmers, fishers, small business owners and other informal sector groups that suffer the most. Then comes the knock-on effect on the nation’s economy as Governments usually re-align budgets, if they can, from other development projects to support disaster relief.

Climate and disaster risk insurance solutions have the potential to fill this gap and provide vulnerable communities with rapid funds to cope with the losses. PICAP has developed and deployed the region’s first parametric micro-insurance products that provide financial cover against heavy wind and extreme rainfall related events.

Read more on PICAP's work in the Pacific HERE.
Download PICAP's Results at a Glance HERE and HERE.

Learn more through UNCDF's Capital Musings Podcast episode below: