UK Disaster Protection Centre: Humanitarian Insurance: Weighing the Options

Through the previous blogs in this series, we have started to unpick the role for risk transfer in a humanitarian context, and raised some of the ethical, practical, and principle-based reasons why humanitarian actors might think twice before using risk transfer tools like insurance [1]. The obvious next question for humanitarian actors and donors is simple: “when is risk transfer a good option?”.

Whether risk transfer is a good option depends on many factors. And the exercise of weighing the relative benefits of risk transfer and balancing this against its cost can’t be done simply by turning a handle on an excel spreadsheet.

This question takes a human touch. At its core, weighing and balancing the option of risk transfer often relies on a technical analysis of the costs and benefits of risk transfer in relation to a defined value statement. But any decision must also reflect strategic objectives, reviews of practical, logistical, and legal limitations, and a critical evaluation of the reasons why a product might fail, and the failsafe mechanisms that can be used to mitigate this risk.

To help guide decision-making, this blog poses three questions that aim to help humanitarian actors and donors to triage proposals for using risk transfer:

  1. Risk transfer for what future costs?

  2. How does risk transfer compare to other options?.

  3. Are we there yet?

FULL ORIGINAL PUBLICATION HERE

This section is reserved for prospective online registration/payment option

×