Closing the protection gap - Disaster risk financing: smart solutions for the public sector

Every year natural and man-made catastrophes cause a distressing loss of lives and considerable economic costs around the world. Both industrialised and developing countries are affected, and surprisingly, both are also materially underinsured. This is the 3rd edition of a Closing the Protection Gap – Smart solutions for the public sector, which outlines various insurance based tools and approaches proven to help governments, regions and cities, and the constituents they represent, to become more resilient.

2017 was one of the costliest year ever for natural disasters, an estimated USD 337 billion. The economic losses were almost twice the 2016 total (USD 180 billion), and well above the inflation-adjusted average of USD 190 billion of the previous 10 years. Insurance covered losses of close to USD 144 billion, with natural catastrophes generating claims of close to USD 138 billion. 

The human cost is equally staggering. Many millions of people are impacted by droughts, floods, storms, earthquakes, pandemic outbreaks and other natural catastrophes each year. Moreover, a growing share of the world’s population live in regions considered highly exposed to extreme weather and natural disasters.