The first ever pay-out by the Mesoamerican Reef Insurance Programme was triggered on 2nd November, when the Turneffe Atoll, off the coast of Belize, was hit by Hurricane Lisa.
The cat 1 hurricane event triggered a US$175,000 pay-out under the programme’s parametric policy and will finance immediate reef recovery and restoration.
The parametric policy, underwritten by AXA Climate and Munich Re and placed by WTW’s ART team, covers seven key coral reef sites of the largest barrier reef in the Atlantic Ocean across Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.
Rowan Douglas (pictured), head of the Climate and Resilience Hub at WTW, said: “WTW is proud to be a part of the team delivering this financial innovation to the MAR region. The MAR Insurance Programme ensures funding is available for reef restoration, supporting the long-term health of this crucial yet highly threatened piece of natural infrastructure. It also demonstrates the much wider role that insurance can play in ecosystem resilience, conservation financing and strengthening the economic opportunities of local communities in the face of loss and damage from both shock and slow onset climate hazard.”
María José González, executive director of MAR Fund, added: “As a private environmental fund, MAR Fund supports regional access to the right kinds of financial tools, which provide funding when it is most needed. This pay-out will fund reef repair and build long-term resilience of the ecosystem and the people it supports.”
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