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Emerging Lessons from Innovation in Catastrophic Weather Insurance to Improve the Livelihoods of Rural Households

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Publication date
21/09/2009
Number of Pages
51
Language:
English
Type of Publication:
Other
Focus Region:
Global
Focus Topic:
Agricultural Value Chains / Agri-Businesses
Type of Risk:
Natural disasters
Weather & Climate related
Type of Risk Managment Option:
Risk transfer
Commodity:
Crops
Fisheries & Aquaculture
Forestry
Livestock
Author
Jerry Skees
Organization
Global Ag Risk, Inc.

This is an informative and educational style presentation detailing how various actors pay for catastrophic risks and disasters, with key themes including:

  • Weather index insurance should be about ex ante financing and improving the way stakeholders pay for catastrophic losses (this can include market and gov’t solutions)
  • Index insurance is best suited for consequential losses
  • One-off weather insurance for small households may not be a scalable model
  •  Insurance that addresses weather risk of firms that serve the poor (risk aggregators) should provide the most opportunity given limitations of providing weather insurance directly to small holders
  •  Solutions that involve public-private partnerships must clearly distinguish the role for markets and the role for government; understanding cognitive failure for extreme risk can help