The specialist Lloyd’s of London insurance and reinsurance marketplace has entered into a new partnership with Habitat for Humanity Great Britain, designed to help create braver and more resilient communities in climate risk areas.
The Lloyd’s Charities Trust has launched the new disaster resilience partnership with Habitat for Humanity Great Britain, as part of the re/insurance market’s continued response to emerging risks and the challenges faced by communities in all corners of the world.
Under the partnership, Habitat for Humanity Great Britain is looking to leverage Lloyd’s and the broader re/insurance industry’s expertise in both modelling and mapping natural catastrophes to help them develop new tools and models.
The partnership has a particular focus on the flood sector, and it’s expected that expert advice from the risk transfer sector on flood risk reduction strategies will ultimately enable the most vulnerable communities to build their capacity to successfully meet the challenges posed by flood threats.
One of the key components of the new partnership is a funding project in Malawi’s Chikwawa District, an area significantly impacted by severe flooding from Cyclone Idai in March, 2019.
The idea of this project, explains Lloyd’s, is to analyse exactly why certain communities choose to live in flood-prone lowland areas, and the best way to go about improving the resilience of these communities from future natural catastrophe events.
This project in Malawi also provides access to community rescue hubs for over 20,000 individuals, which will also function as emergency shelters for 36 families, essentially lowering vulnerability in the region.
Vicky Carter, Chairman of Global Capital Solutions, International at Guy Carpenter, and trustee of Lloyd’s Charities Trust, commented: “Sharing risk is central to the work of the (re)insurance sector and the Lloyd’s market. This is an incredibly exciting partnership for us as the charity responsible for driving disaster resilience initiatives on behalf of the market.
“With a wealth of knowledge and intelligence in our market around climate related risks and mitigation to share, it is a natural fit for us to partner with Habitat for Humanity to build the resilience and coping capabilities of the most vulnerable communities.”
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Habitat for Humanity Great Britain, Tum Kazunga, said: “This new partnership with Lloyd’s Charities Trust is an important step toward helping communities prone to natural disasters build their resilience, and help us as an organisation respond even more effectively.
“East African coastal communities, including, as we’ve seen in the case of Cyclone Idai, landlocked countries like Malawi, are increasingly at risk from the growing frequency of tropical cyclones. With Lloyd’s Charities Trust support, we will be able to not only rebuild but to also train these communities and help them to become more resilient to flooding.
“These training programmes are designed to support communities, local authorities and other stakeholders to prepare, withstand, and recover from future disasters.”
