Washington, DC September 28, 2017 – The World Bank Group received EUR 10 million from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to improve and scale up the use of extreme weather insurance instruments as risk management tools for the poor and the most vulnerable smallholder farmers particularly affected by climate change. The contribution will finance knowledge and technical assistance activities of the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) to build capacity and expertise among practitioners in developing countries to devise effective index insurance products

In a Business Mirror (Philippines) Op-ed, Dennis B. Funa, the Philippines's insurance commissioner, wrote that the Binhi Micro-Crop Insurance Program of CARD Pioneer Microinsurance Inc. will benefit smallholder farmers face typhoon risks. When leading portfolios of micro-finance institutions are protected by insurance, farmers are also protected. The Binhi Micro-Crop Insurance is supported by the Global Index Insurance Facility and the Government of Canada.

The World Bank has stated that the Kenya Livestock Insurance Program (KLIP), an index insurance that insures vulnerable pastoralists in the northern counties, has so far paid out about 5.3 million U.S dollars to over 20,000 pastoralists, according to a Xinhua report.

Rwanda is hosting the 4th Eastern and Southern Regional Conference on Microinsurance aimed at sharing insights on inclusive insurance business models and strategies, Rwanda's The New Times reports. National agricultural insurance schemes and weather index insurance pilots will be discussed as tools for making agricultural insurance accessible to smallholder farmers.

According to AllAfrica, Nigeria and Morocco have set up a steering committee, comprising representatives of the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Bank of Agriculture, the Moroccan Agricultural Insurance Company (MAMDA), and MAMDA RE, to develop a sustainable crop insurance scheme for the countries.

Oliver Ralph and John Aglionby at the Financial Times wrote in The Big Read about how "insurance will help deliver relief more effectively". The authors cited several disaster risk insurance programs undertaken by development agencies and governments, including Kenya's Livestock Insurance Program.

Asia needs to explore index Insurance and parametric solutions in its efforts to close the region's protection gap, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Reinsurance News reports. “We must put in place mechanisms for the effective assessment, management, and transfer of disaster risks. Advances in technology, innovation, research, and market integration put us in a strong position to address these challenges,” Ravi Menon, MAS Managing Director, was quoted as saying.

In a blog posted on the World Bank Group's Voices, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Senior Director in the Finance & Markets Global Practices, wrote that "strengthening women’s role in finance is one of the keys to boosting economic growth." 1.1 billion women worldwide (about 42% of the global female population) remain unbanked or have little access to finance, and this fact poses economic and developmental challenges. Click here to read the blog and more about the new World Bank Group's Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).

Simon Kilgour and Mick McArdle at CMS Law-Now have penned an article suggesting that index insurance is gaining momentum in Africa. The article also discusses pros and cons of the innovative insurance provision.

In a press release ahead of the G20 summit, Peter Höppe, Chairman of the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) and Head of Geo Risks Research/Corporate Climate Centre at Munich Re said, " It is high time that G20 nations take responsibility to support the most vulnerable countries in their fight against climate change and the increasingly severe impacts of floods, heatwaves and changing weather patterns." "One major milestone would be a climate insurance partnership that helps vulnerable and poor countries and communities better cushion the impacts of extreme climatic events," he added