CCRIF SPC has received a €1 million grant from the Government of Ireland to support the rollout of its parametric insurance product for the fisheries sector in five additional CCRIF member countries in the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Ocean and Aquaculture Sustainability Facility (COAST) initiative was launched by CCRIF SPC with support from the World Bank and the US State Department in 2019.
The Caribbean is the first region globally to develop and implement parametric climate risk insurance for the fisheries sector.
Grenada and Saint Lucia have held COAST policies since the launch of the product in 2019, receiving premium support from the World Bank each year for policy renewal.
With this support from Irish Aid, a total of seven countries in the Caribbean will now have access to COAST.
“COAST is the first parametric insurance ever developed for the fisheries sector and has been developed to advance resilience and sustainable management of the marine environment, leading to a stronger blue economy in the region,” said CCRIF CEO Isaac Anthony.
“The COAST policy is an example of inclusive insurance – it is more than a financial instrument as it is designed to protect the livelihoods of the most vulnerable, thereby contributing to sustainable livelihoods, national food security and community development, especially in rural areas.”
Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, also commented: “This Irish Aid support to CCRIF’s Climate Risk Insurance is part of the Government of Ireland’s commitment to Small Island Developing States. It helps maintain a sustainable blue economy in the Caribbean, through enabling quicker local responses to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation.”
