From the article:
With natural disasters forecast to worsen, vulnerable countries and aid donors should look to insurance to get faster payouts to those most affected and stop disasters spiralling into costly long-term development challenges, says new research from the Center for Global Development.
Insurance would allow governments to better allocate money and can spur higher investment in resilience, it argues.
The CGD report, issued last week, says the poorest countries have little coverage for natural disasters which risk jeopardising development and can increase displacement, conflict and regional instability.
"We have various mechanisms for disaster relief, most of which could be adapted to have pre-agreed payouts, so we would have insurance-like principles within our existing institutions and learn from the insurance industry," Owen Barder, director for CGD Europe, told a panel discussion on the report.
"One of the things insurance companies help you do is work out how to bring down your premium because they can identify the risks that you face... at the moment there is no incentive to invest in resilience," he added.