The task force has three areas of focus, according to the public-private partnership between the insurance industry and the UN, World Bank and other NGOs.

The Insurance Development Forum (IDF) has published an update on the aims of its Disaster Risk Reduction (DDR) Task Force.

earthquake

The IDF is a public-private partnership led by the insurance industry and co-chaired by the UN, the World Bank, and other international organisations.

The purpose of the DRR Task Force, the IDF said, is to demonstrate how the insurance industry can play an active role in preventing disasters from happening and reducing their impact when they do.

The update comes from the DRR Task Force co-chairs: Saoirse Jones, executive director and head of IDF engagement at Zurich Insurance Group; Shaun Tarbuck, CEO of International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF); and Mathieu Verougstraete, resilient infrastructure and resilient finance lead at the UN’s Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Three focuses

“Our objectives include promoting DRR as a complement to protection gap solutions to increase resilience of vulnerable communities, integrating a DRR lens into Insurance Development Forum programmes, and emphasising the role of insurance in disaster risk reduction,” said the IDF’s update.

It earmarked three focuses to achieve the DRR Task Force goals.

Firstly, through working group engagement it aims to capitalise on synergies and integration with other bodies and projects with overlapping areas of interest.

Secondly, it said it would prioritise awareness, education and communication.

Thirdly, it pledged work on standard setting and measurement, primarily through a benchmarking initiative working with the UN, the ICMIF and individual insurers.

“We aim to enable a shift within the industry from a sole focus from risk transfer products and services as a means to protect the insured, to include prevention through DRR incentives, awareness, capacity and financing,” the IDF said.

Advocacy has already included speaking at the 2023 Insurance Development Forum Summit and the IDF’s appointment as one of the theme leads for the COP28 climate event held in the UAE in November-December 2023’s ”Resilience Hub on Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Action”, the IDF noted.

“We aim to measure success through increased awareness and tangible integration of DRR mechanisms into Insurance Development Forum programmes and projects,” the public-private body added.

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