In the past, when there was an extreme weather event, the main questions on people’s minds were: What can be done to ensure a quick response (= respond) as well as a fast recovery (= recover)? Due to the increase in both the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the question of what can be done to minimize damage (= prevent) as well as what preparation is needed to keep these weather hazards from becoming a disaster (= prepare) have become increasingly important. Even when these measures are taken, however, some risk remains.
Climate risk insurance, can play a central role in protecting against these residual risks. It holds the potential to incentivize people to start adapting to climate change and develop strategies to reduce their own risk. By being prudent and planning with a long-term perspective in mind, the costs of insurance premiums can go down, thus easing the financial burden on the policyholders.
Innovative insurance solutions, which are integrated into the individual phases of climate risk management (respond, recover, prevent, prepare, and residual risk), help strengthen people’s resilience before an extreme weather event hits. By investing in (re-)construction measures to protect the land and property, a household can keep future damage to a minimum and will enable themselves to recover more quickly after a flood disaster.
ACRIplus is breaking new ground: Together with local authorities and private sector partners, new insurance solutions that are linked to all of the phases of the disaster risk management cycle are being developed. Based on a comprehensive risk analysis of extreme weather events and their direct and indirect effects on people, the environment, and the economy, new measures are also being devised. These are designed to have a positive impact on all of the phases in disaster risk management – an integrated, effective approach which uses the full potential of each phase. Through this approach, we create the opportunity to prepare long-term for climate change and its serious consequences. This project works towards long-term solutions for urban development, industrial zones, renewable energy, and water infrastructure.
The second key focus of ACRIplus is to gather the experiences of different international organizations and channel them to the international dialogue on climate change. Relevant, comparable information is provided in partnership with PreventionWeb, the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), and the UNISDR PreventionWeb platform. The information is freely accessible to everyone. This creates transparency and provides the basis for further analyses and response to key guiding questions. ACRIplus actively brings these experiences to the international climate dialogue by participating in conferences, climate negotiations, and talking to experts from the public, private, and political sectors.
Read moreWe have designed a game in the context of ACRI+ to enhance learning and dialogue on the topics of disaster preparedness, prevention, risk reduction and risk transfer with different stakeholders. Check out this instructional video explaining how the game “Hotel Resilience” can be facilitated.
On the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, 13 October 2017, the first-ever online database on climate risk insurance is being launched by the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, commissioned by the German Government. The Climate Insurance database shares the experiences of numerous international organizations in the field of risk transfer and insurance solutions in the context of climate risk management and disseminates information on good practices and innovative solutions.
Visit the database
