WFP calls for disaster risk financing expansion amid cat-driven food insecurity
At COP30, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that a 1°C rise in global temperatures could thrust an additional 70 million people into food insecurity across the 45 countries where it operates, highlighting the urgent need to expand disaster risk financing. The programme continued, “Extreme weather is exacerbating a global hunger crisis, as […]
Rwanda explores layered disaster risk transfer, with cat bonds on the table
In what could mark a significant step for sovereign risk management in East Africa, Rwanda is weighing the use of catastrophe bonds within a new disaster risk finance (DRF) strategy according to the World Bank Group. Over 100 government officials, development partners and financial experts reportedly met in Kigali in October for a workshop to […]
Jamaica’s $150 million payout rekindles parametric concerns, but ILS market holds firm
Swiss Re head says investors have taken the Melissa redemption in stride Jamaica’s full US$150 million catastrophe bond payout after Hurricane Melissa, one of the largest sovereign cat-bond redemptions in recent years, is reverberating through the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market. The World Bank confirmed on Nov. 7, 2025 that Jamaica’s 2024 catastrophe bond, issued through its International […]
Jamaica’s PM credits disaster risk financing with reducing debt burden after Hurricane Melissa
Reflecting on the impacts of Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has stressed the importance and effectiveness of responsive disaster risk financing instruments in reducing the country’s debt burden in the aftermath of the hurricane. According to estimates from the World Bank Group, in coordination with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the physical […]
Cat bond market helps CEA reduce its reinsurance attachment point and costs
Over the last year the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has benefited from strong execution in the catastrophe bond market to lower both its reinsurance attachment point and costs associated with risk transfer. With now three catastrophe bonds sponsored so far in 2025, the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has steadily increased the capital markets share of […]
ADB approves plan to issue catastrophe bond for Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved plans to issue a pilot parametric catastrophe bond for Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan which could be as much as $100 million in size, protecting both countries against earthquake and flood risks. This initiative accompanies ADB’s approval of a $56.4 million program aimed at strengthening both countries’ capacity to […]
Swiss Re urges bolder investment in Insurance-Linked Loans to strengthen sovereign disaster resilience
Swiss Re Public Sector Solutions, the arm of the global reinsurer that works with governments, international institutions, and the broader public sector on risk transfer solutions, has suggested now is the time to invest more boldly in insurance-linked loans. Swiss Re says insurance-linked loans, alongside parametric insurance, catastrophe bonds, and contingent credit lines, are an […]
ILS and cat bonds will help close India’s protection gap: FAIR panel
In a recent panel discussing how reinsurance strategies can expand insurance access in India, Mahipal Reddy, Executive Director, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), GIFT City, Gujarat, suggested that the analytical framework already set in place for catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) will drive the popularity of parametric solutions. At the 29th Federation of […]
G20 Ministers call for scaling up of parametric insurance, risk pools, catastrophe bonds
Ministers from the G20, or Group of Twenty forum for global economic cooperation, recently came together in South Africa for annual meetings and the Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group advocated for the enhancement of risk transfer solutions, particularly including use of parametric insurance, risk pools, and catastrophe bonds. Recognising their shared commitment to disaster risk […]
Premier Ebanks urges Cayman Islands to consider cat bonds after Hurricane Melissa
Reflecting on Hurricane Melissa’s impacts on Jamaica, Hon. Andre Ebanks, MP, Premier & Minister for Financial Services and Commerce, of the Cayman Islands, believes that the British Overseas Territory should also look to financial instruments such as catastrophe bonds for future protection. We reported last week that the World Bank had confirmed that following the events […]