Compendium of Risk Transfer Solutions to Support the Most Vulnerable

This compendium is a practical guide and call to action for G20 countries and partners to expand the use of risk transfer solutions that provide faster, fairer financial protection before and after climate events. Despite growing innovation, major protection gaps remain: in 2024, only 344 million people in 37 countries were covered by microinsurance—just 11.5% of a 3 billion-person market. As climate shocks grow more frequent and complex, pre-arranged risk finance tools—such as parametric and index insurance, regional risk pools, and shock-responsive social protection—are essential to reduce post-crisis debt, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen resilience.

The compendium highlights diverse models at macro (sovereign), meso (aggregator), and micro (household) levels, exploring design, delivery, and integration with national systems for disaster risk reduction, public finance, and social protection. A layered approach such as combining insurance, contingency funds, reserves, and credit, ensures coverage across varying scales of shocks.

In line with global frameworks, it calls for a tenfold increase in pre-arranged crisis finance within the decade to meet the  Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement, and G20 goals for resilient development.