ADB is organizing a regional Climate and Disaster Risk Insurance Forum on 19-20 September 2024 at ADB Headquarters in Manila. The event will delve into crucial areas such as reducing the protection gap and bolstering the financial resilience of government, small businesses and the agriculture and energy sectors in the face of disasters arising from natural hazards and climate change risks. These topics are of utmost interest in the current regional context.    

The forum is a unique opportunity to bring together a cross-sectoral group of insurance experts, policymakers, and regulators. It’s a platform where everyone’s voice is valued, and where we can collectively discuss the role of insurance and international capital markets in the design and implementation of innovative solutions. The event will focus the discussion on (i) the available sovereign-level disaster risk financing options, (ii) development of alternative risk financing options, iincluding catastrophe bonds and national and regional risk pools in Asia as, (iii) innovative disaster risk transfer products, (iv) engagement of community-based organizations to help the vulnerable in the societies during natural catastrophes, (v) managing the weather risk for crop and agriculture value chains, and (vi) benefits of credit guarantees, energy efficiency and saving insurance investment.    

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is working on a range of initiatives to enhance climate and disaster resilience, improve the availability of timely financing for post-disaster response, and reduce the protection gap in its developing member countries (DMCs) covering both sovereign and non-sovereign disaster risk financing solutions.   The uptake of available climate and disaster risk financing solutions remains low in many DMCs. The challenges are legal and regulatory gaps, insurance and capital market limitations, and data constraints.