Disaster Risk Financing

Can we design systems that shift from reactive spending to proactive resilience?

A growing number of governments are moving toward a proactive — and more cost‑effective — approach to financial planning, one that protects national budgets, lives, and livelihoods from the impacts of disasters. This is the core promise of Disaster Risk Financing (DRF).

Momentum is building:

• 2007 – Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) launches as the world’s first multi-country risk pool with rapid payouts.
• 2017: InsuResilience Global Partnership launched by the G7 — climate risk insurance for 400M people by 2020.
• 2018: Global Risk Financing Facility created — piloting new tools through the World Bank & GFDRR.
• 2021: At the G7 UK Summit, Germany & UK commit over £245M for pre‑arranged DRF to protect vulnerable communities.
• 2019 – California AB1054 creates a $21B wildfire insurance fund to protect investor‑owned utilities and stabilize energy markets.
• 2022+ – Innovative market-based DRF products emerge in developed economies: parametric water-level insurance (Europe), storm surge cat bonds (USA), heatwave insurance for energy utilities.

The progress is undeniable — but is it enough?

At ICONHIC2026, we aim to alter the paradigm of DRF by exploring questions such as:

• How are risk and uncertainty understood in DRF policy narratives?
• Why do we so often end up with “chlorine tablets” — short‑term fixes instead of long‑term risk reduction?
• How can we efficiently structure instruments to support relief and early recovery?
• What does sound decision‑making look like — and how do actuarial analysis, user‑friendly interfaces, and quantitative market analysis help governments choose the right strategies?
• What mechanisms are needed for governments to effectively allocate, disburse, and monitor recovery and reconstruction funds?

Who should join the discussion?

• Insurers & reinsurers
• Donors & development banks
• Government finance & treasury officials
• Disaster management agencies
• Humanitarian & emergency response practitioners
• Catastrophe modelers, actuaries & data scientists
• Academia & researchers
• Infrastructure operators & utilities
• Technology providers for payout platforms & early warning integration