The 27th Consumer Empowerment and Market Conduct and 10th Inclusive Green Finance Working Group came together on 4-7 March to discuss how financial services that target ‘last-mile’ communities, such as parametric insurance, can be more customer-centric and empowering.

This initiative refines and expands coverage of the parametric insurance product that was first launched in 2021 and aims to strengthen Fiji’s financial resilience against climate change and natural disasters.

The product which was developed by the Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme, will be piloted in Samoa over the next 12 months.

The introduction of parametric insurance in Tonga last year is already having a positive impact on the mindset of beneficiaries, as well as the country’s overall financial services ecosystem.

This new partnership aims to build the capacity of insurers and distribution channels on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

Under the strategic partnership, Lexasure’s digital insurance offering for farmers, Flourish, will be integrated with the AgriON app, providing easy access to purchase and manage agricultural insurance to provide farmers with greater resiliency against adverse events. 

Both products offer combined insurance cover against heavy wind and rainfall and are designed to offer immediate financial support after extreme weather events.

Under an agreement, IFC will provide PasarPolis with $5 million in equity finance to develop infrastructure to connect insurers, digital platforms and customers unserved by the traditional insurance sector.