Tokio Marine Group and The Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities) have entered into a partnership which will see Tokio Marine Group provide industry expertise and support to the Resilience Finance Taskforce, made up of cities and private sector partners to bolster the portfolio approach to investment in city resilience.
For those unaware, The Resilient Cities Network is a renowned urban resilience network, which consists of over 100 cities across six continents; including London, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town.
From what Reinsurance News understands, Tokio Marine Group will serve as the inaugural underwriting partner of the new Resilience Finance Taskforce, the firm will also provide financial support too, which will allow the Taskforce to develop the frameworks and methodologies cities need to scale resilience finance.
An important figure to highlight, between 2018 to 2022, the average gap in economic losses and losses covered by insurance grew to over $100 billion per year, which is nearly 20% higher than the average over the last 10 years.
In fact, many cities across the globe have a comprehensive resilience strategy in place, but they lack the capital or resources to proactively create resilient project portfolios that are attractive to investors, instead seeking incidental funding opportunities.
Moreover, the overall purpose of the Resilience Finance Taskforce is to support cities to develop holistic portfolios of resilience projects that enable investment in urban transformations, and mobilize finance to address risk.
Brad Irick, Co-Head of International Business of Tokio Marine Holdings, commented: “The global risk landscape is becoming more volatile. The world needs better solutions for risk management, mitigation and recovery. Finance and insurance play a critical role in helping to rebuild people’s lives and businesses in the wake of devastating events.
“By partnering with cities to provide support where it’s most needed, we can develop solutions designed to weave resilience into the fabric of society. Our commercial partnership with R-Cities will enable us to harness our 140+ years of expertise to find innovative solutions that help strengthen urban resilience.”
Lauren Sorkin, Executive Director of Resilient Cities Network, said: “We need to put cities back in the driver’s seat, empowering them to attract investments that will allow their communities and businesses to thrive, resilient to whatever shocks and stresses may come. Strategic investment and policy change that builds resilience is more urgent than ever. The partners aligning for the Taskforce are well-placed to do just that.”
