Pikine, Senegal’s second-largest city with more than 750,000 inhabitants, has signed a parametric insurance contract against excessive rainfall, structured by AXA Climate, and insured by a consortium of Senegalese insurers, AXA Sénégal, ASKIA Assurances, and SUNU Assurances, reinsured by African Risk Capacity (ARC) Ltd.
This insurance will enable Pikine to receive 200 million CFA francs in the event of rainfall exceeding 126 mm over two consecutive days, with a relatively frequent trigger (every 4.7 years on average).
Rainfall will reportedly be measured by weather stations installed in the city and managed by Senegal’s National Meteorological Agency.
Meanwhile, a contingency plan and an adaptation plan have been developed by two local NGOs based in Pikine, Eau Vie Environnement and UrbaSEN.
AXA commented, “This collaboration, guided by Pikine’s needs, was a great pleasure and a source of much learning. The insurance premium is 85% subsidised by Humanity Insured, whose involvement from the start of the project has been invaluable.
“This high level of subsidy allows us to place our initiative within a hashtag#climatejustice framework. None of this would have been possible without the co-financing of our partners at the InsuResilience Solutions Fund (ISF).”
David Maslo, Chief Executive Officer of ARC Ltd, added, “Our mandate goes beyond design; it’s about execution with the market.
“In Senegal, we’re delighted to have co-developed and launched a ground-sensor-based parametric urban flood product in collaboration with AXA Climate, ASKIA ASSURANCES and SUNU Assurances.
“Together, we are combining technical expertise, capital, and market capacity to deliver an innovative, concessional insurance solution designed for rapid, objective payouts in urban environments.
“This complements the sovereign riverine flood parametric product launched this month in Madagascar, extending coverage across distinct flood typologies, from urban pluvial risk at the municipal level to riverine risk at the sovereign level.”
