Grant Supports Expansion of CCRIF Fisheries Insurance Program

CCRIF SPC received a €1 million ($1.16 million) grant from the government of Ireland—through Irish Aid—to support the rollout of a parametric insurance product for the fisheries sector in 5 additional CCRIF countries in the Caribbean.

CCRIF launched the Caribbean Ocean and Aquaculture Sustainability Facility (COAST) initiative with support from the World Bank and the US State Department in 2019.

The Caribbean is the first region in the world to develop and implement parametric climate risk insurance for the fisheries sector, a CCRIF statement said. CCRIF's COAST program provides vulnerable fishing communities access to insurance developed specifically to meet their needs, protect livelihoods, and close protection gaps.

Grenada and Saint Lucia have held COAST policies since the product was launched in 2019, receiving premium support from the World Bank each year.

With the grant from Irish Aid, CCRIF will be able to provide access to COAST to seven Caribbean countries.

Like CCRIF's other insurance products, COAST insurance is parametric with payouts based on predefined levels of wave height, rainfall, wind, or storm surge and their impact. The parametric structure allows payouts to be made within 14 days of an event.

"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," CCRIF CEO Isaac Anthony said in the statement.

Previously known as the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility Segregated Portfolio Company, CCRIF SPC is a segregated portfolio company that is owned, operated, and registered in the Caribbean. It limits the financial impact of such disasters as catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes, and excess rainfall events on participating Caribbean and Central American governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered.

CCRIF SPC was developed under the technical leadership of the World Bank and with a grant from the government of Japan. It was capitalized through contributions to a multidonor trust fund by the government of Canada, European Union, World Bank, governments of the United Kingdom and France, Caribbean Development Bank, and governments of Ireland and Bermuda, as well as through membership fees paid by participating governments.