The Government of India has initiated preliminary discussions with domestic insurers to develop a nationwide climate-linked insurance programme, intended to streamline payouts following extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and floods.

The scheme would adopt a parametric insurance model, where policyholders receive a pre-determined payout when specific weather thresholds such as rainfall, temperature or windspeed are breached.

Should the discussions bear fruit, India – among the nations most prone to extreme weather events – could become one of the first major economies to roll out such a programme.

The move would also help the government, which now uses funds earmarked for disasters to help states with adverse climate events, rein in costs as insurers would be taking on more ri

See Full Page