More work continues to ensure that immediate financial relief to vulnerable communities, including farmers, fishers and small businesses, following a tropical cyclone, is provided through the UN Capital Development Fund-led Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme’s first climate risk parametric micro-insurance product.
The premium is set at $100 a year and the insurance product offer covers for cyclones, carrying a maximum coverage of $1,000, which will be paid out within 14 to 21 days following a tropical cyclone.
The UNCDF Lead Technical Specialist Insurance and Climate Adaptation, Krishnan Narasimhan says through this programme, the recovery of the vulnerable groups will be faster after a cyclone passes them.
For a category 5 cyclone, the insured vulnerable member gets the $1,000 payout, $800 payout for a category 4 cyclone and $600 for a category 3 cyclone in a graded step manner.
Narasimhan says more importantly, multiple events within a policy year are covered.
He says financial literacy is important to get these vulnerable groups onto the programme.
He also says the advantage of parametric insurance is that you do not have to establish a loss.
Another survey has been conducted with the rice and root crop farmers in Vanua Levu.
The survey was done by USP, UN University in Bonn and University of West Indies to come up with objectives and solutions to get more people on the micro insurance programme.
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