Challenges and lessons learned from the project “Enhancing urban resilience in Medellín through insurance protection for climate risks and natural disasters”

The project “Improving urban resilience in Medellín through insurance protection for climate risks and natural disasters” is an international cooperation initiative established with the objective of improving the resilience of Medellín and its capacity to respond to natural disasters.

The experiences of the project in responding to these challenges provide valuable lessons for future initiatives. In particular, the learnings from this project highlight the need to: 

• quantify and standardize historical information on climate disasters in the country, 
• ensure adequate coordination with local actors on information available at the local level, 
• understand the dynamics of public administration at the local level, 
• generate a "common language" between the private and public sectors by building knowledge and capacity among both, (v) explore various options for disaster risk transfer before settling on a proposed solution, 
• maintain flexibility among the various project partners, 
• introduce explicit municipal regulation on the use of funds obtained through a risk transfer product, and 
• opt for in-person interaction, where possible, in public-private collaboration.