Africa is in a highly risky position in terms of climate change. Most production is rainfall dependent. It is estimated that the continent will remain food insecure and lose a significant portion of the GDP by 2030 due to increasingly unpredictable climate events. A possible solution to improve livelihoods is increasing access to finance, climate smart agricultural services, and climate insurance.

Climate or agricultural insurance coverage in Africa is quite low and there is need to increase penetration to improve resilience to the effects of climate change. Therefore, issues around risk mitigation, adaptation, risk pooling, and the use of technology are all important components of improving customer experience, supporting scale, and balancing both the demand and supply sides of insurance offerings.  The development of a suitable enabling environment is also critical for market growth and innovation.

The Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) will be hosting a session on the role of regulators in scaling up climate insurance at the International Conference on Inclusive Insurance . The session will be moderated by Sharon Onyango (Financial Sector Specialist / WBG-IFC-GIIF); and it will involve the presentation of different cases by Dr. Grace Muradzikwa / Commissioner at Insurance and Pensions Commisions (IPEC), Zimbabwe;  Isaac Magina / Agriculture Underwriting and Marketing Manager, Africa Re, Nigeria; Humphrev Mulele / Manager. Agriculture Specialities, Mayfair Insurance, Zambia; and Vizaso Musonda / Manager - Market Development, Pensions and Insurance Authority, Zambia.

The participants will discuss the current status of efforts towards improving the enabling environment (from the perspective of regulators and insurance practitioners) to support the development of sustainable and scalable agriculture insurance markets in Africa. Panelists will share their experiences and brainstorm ways in which regulatory procedures, market conditions, and policy aspects can enable the development of simple, accessible, and impactful insurance products. The goal is to look at various aspects of market development and share examples of best practices, lessons learned, and potential aspirational regulatory and market supervisory models.

Africa is an untapped frontier, a space for competition as well as collaboration in the design, development and distribution of insurance products. In this process, governments and stakeholders should invest in awareness building and education campaigns, communicate their message in clear and efficient ways, better understand customers’ needs, follow technological and other trends, and adapt their business models accordingly to respond to today’s risks and increasing challenges. A concerted effort by all relevant stakeholders holds the key to how fast the continent could advance these objectives in the face of climate change. All steps in this direction are aimed at contributing toward the betterment of humanity.

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