Global Parametrics (GP) and Germany’s KfW, one of the world’s leading promotional banks, today announced the first use of the NDF Technical Assistance Facility, a € 3 million grant from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) designed to facilitate high impact and scalable risk transfer with capacity from the Natural Disaster Fund (NDF) and partners.
The Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) will act as a complement to the NDF – with the objective to mitigate start-up challenges which often occur when designing parametric risk transfer solutions for clients with developmental impact, including the high investment costs of product development, institutional education and distribution in fledging markets. The TAF will also provide funding for research and development activities to create an innovative product offering where market demand has been identified.
Through initial catalytic investment from the TAF, solutions will grow and scale, serving to deepen the risk transfer market in developing and emerging economies. This will contribute to the NDF’s target of indirect protection to between 66 – 105 million poor and vulnerable people under the InsuResilience Global Partnership by 2025.
The first programme to harness the TAF, in partnership with risk modelers ERN and Ingeniar Ltd, will create an offering for landslide risk in the city of Manizales, Colombia. The funding will build a unique rainfall-based landslide model, harnessing rainfall data within Manizales’ network, including historical records and statistics from local stations. Global Parametrics will structure a parametric risk transfer product based on the final index. The risk transfer capacity for this solution is anticipated to come from the NDF and international reinsurance and capital markets.
The parametric programme will provide another layer of protection alongside pre-existing indemnity policies to assist in immediate recovery efforts in the aftermath of a landslide event in Manizales. This disaster management mechanism is anticipated to cover over 260,000 residents in the city. It is envisioned that the product will be able to scale up into a wider offering, to catalyse future market activity for similar solutions in other geographies.
Stefan W. Hirche, Principal Portfolio Manager of KfW, said “With our support of the Natural Disaster Fund, the German government and we at KfW are proud to enable our partner countries to protect their citizens better against climate risks.”
Hector Ibarra, CEO of Global Parametrics stated, “The Technical Assistance Facility is a key instrument to promote innovation in resilience to natural hazards and extreme weather. We are pleased to partner with ERN and Ingeniar to develop this vital protection against landslide risk.”
Mario Ordaz, President of the Board of ERN stated, “The development of a parametric landslide product for Manizales, the first of its kind in Colombia and Latin America, will improve the disaster financing planning at city level, allowing coverage for a recurrent peril.”
Alexa Morales, Director of the Disaster Risk Management Unit of Manizales acknowledged, “We want to consolidate an effective risk reduction and adaptation strategy to allow us anticipate disasters using territorial planning and financial protection strategies, besides responding to them efficiently with the aim of making the city more sustainable, resilient and competitive.”
Omar D. Cardona, CEO of Ingeniar Ltd. said, “Having detailed inventories of landslides by the City and Corpocaldas, besides records of previous rains for each case, together with a real-time warning system and hazard models developed by the National University of Colombia, makes Manizales an ideal natural laboratory.”
About Global Parametrics
Rethinking risk to build more inclusive resilience: Extreme weather events and natural hazards are being intensified by climate change, increasing the frequency and intensity of economic shocks which disrupt business and threaten livelihoods.
Established in 2016, Global Parametrics is a specialty provider of parametric solutions for natural hazard and extreme weather risk in emerging economies. Working with the private, public and third sector, GP uses its innovative climatic, seismic and financial risk modelling to rethink resilience for a new era of risk.
Learn more at: https://globalparametrics.com/
About ERN
ERN is the Latin American leader in catastrophe risk models, evaluating natural and man-made hazard that impact people, buildings and infrastructure. ERN strives to provide solutions to the needs of our clients by extending our knowledge through studies and projects in different regions of the world. ERN’s avant-garde products and services are the results of an experienced team that is always committed to offering state-of-the-art methodologies and tools because of the continuous interest in research, development and technology.
Learn more at: https://www.ern.com.mx/web/index_en.html
About Ingeniar Ltd
INGENIAR has been the main private advisor for the local government of Manizales and the Autonomous Environmental Authority (CORPOCALDAS), leading over the past years the development of state-of-the-art risk management instruments, currently operational in the city. INGENIAR has led the development of the catastrophe risk profiles and disaster risk indicators of most of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean for the Inter-American Development Bank, and led the development of the multi-hazard Global Risk Model for the UNDRR Global Assessment Reports.
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- September 6, 2023
CelsiusPro Acquires Global Parametrics, Further Strengthening its Climate and NatCat Risk Solutions and Global Presence
· Swiss-based CelsiusPro will contribute its award-winning climate risk products, technology, and consulting services, aimed primarily at developed markets.
· UK-based Global Parametrics will bring the Natural Disaster Fund, a risk capacity pool committed by British and German government agencies, focused on developing countries.
· Offering will benefit clients in sectors including property, agribusiness, re/insurance, microinsurance, nature-based solutions, and international development.
ZURICH/LONDON, 6 September 2023 – CelsiusPro AG announced today the acquisition of Global Parametrics Holding Company Limited, in a transaction that significantly strengthens its global capabilities to offer parametric risk transfer solutions to both private and public sector clients in developed and developing economies.
The combined CelsiusPro and Global Parametrics group creates an even stronger offering along the value chain of climate and Nat Cat risks, opening new possibilities for businesses, governments, NGOs, and communities to build resilience against perils such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and drought.
The acquisition complements CelsiusPro’s expertise in climate technology and parametric insurance design, structuring, and underwriting, primarily in developed economies, with Global Parametrics’ experience in delivering disaster risk management response in developing countries. Moreover, both companies will combine their expertise as Managing General Agents (MGAs) to attract and deploy additional risk capacity.
After the merger, the Global Parametrics team will continue to manage the Natural Disaster Fund (NDF), a risk capacity pool backed by commitments from the UK Government’s Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) and by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development via KfW, Germany’s development bank. The NDF shares risks with global reinsurer Hannover Re, one of Global Parametrics’ longstanding key partners.
Mark Rueegg, CEO of CelsiusPro, said: “The acquisition combines CelsiusPro’s expertise in climate technology and parametric insurance with Global Parametrics’ asset management approach to climate risk through the NDF and its MGA. This is key to our value proposition, as we see an increasing number of NatCat financing facilities, such as the Global Shield initiative launched at COP27, are looking for experts on parametric solutions and risk capital deployment. We are enthusiastic about the strategic fit between CelsiusPro and Global Parametrics, and welcome our new colleagues to our group.”
Angus Kirk, CEO of Global Parametrics, said: “We are grateful to our founder investors, FCDO and KfW (through the InsuResilience Investment Fund, IIF), for their support in the early stages of Global Parametrics’ development. We are very excited about the next chapter with CelsiusPro. This partnership offers numerous opportunities to expand and enhance our offerings, thereby increasing and accelerating our impact on building resilience in underserved communities against the effects of climate change and natural disasters.”
The combined group will serve clients from its offices in Zurich, Sydney, and London.
- News
- July 12, 2023
Expanding protection for smallholder farmers in Africa with One Acre Fund and Howden Broking
Global Parametrics is pleased to announce the expansion of our parametric protection scheme with One Acre Fund for smallholder farmers. We and One Acre Fund have partnered with international insurance group, Howden Broking, to expand the programme this year in Rwanda.
GP has been working with One Acre Fund since 2020 on a parametric solution for excess rain and drought risk, with payments intended to provide financial protection and resources to help farmers mitigate the impacts of extreme weather and improve livelihoods with climate smart investments through One Acre Fund loan protection.
Key highlights of the partnership include:
🔹 2020 One Acre Fund and GP began working in Tanzania on a parametric solution for excess rain and drought risk.
🔹 2022 scaled up to include Tanzania and Malawi, protecting 175,000 smallholder farmers.
🔹 2023 scaled up to include Rwanda, benefiting a further 800,000 people.
🔹 $650,000 expected payout this year following the ongoing East African drought and Cyclone Freddy.
The solution is backed by the Natural Disaster Fund, a public-private partnership managed by Global Parametrics with seed investment from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via KfW, with global reinsurer Hannover Re providing matching capacity.
Read more here: https://www.reinsurancene.ws/global-parametrics-one-acre-fund-partner-with-howden-to-expand-parametric-scheme/