ARC Ltd. and Floodbase Partner to Develop Parametric Flood Insurance Solutions for Africa

PR Newswire

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Floodbase has announced a partnership with African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd.) to develop, distribute, and scale parametric flood insurance solutions across Africa.

Floods have had a significant humanitarian impact in Africa in recent decades, with contributing factors including climate change, rapid urbanisation, and overpopulation. However, flood risk in Africa is largely uninsured, resulting in economic fragility, agricultural instability, and community displacement. The sprawling nature of farmlands and the high-risk status of African countries have made it difficult for insurers to structure adequate indemnity insurance.

To help close this insurance gap, parametric insurer ARC Ltd. and Floodbase will develop parametric flood microinsurance products that can be scaled across Africa to cover smallholder farmers against agricultural risk. Unlike indemnity insurance, these products can pay out within days or weeks when the magnitude of flooding exceeds a predetermined threshold. They will be designed with prearranged pricing and payout thresholds based on Floodbase's 23 years of monitored flood history. This approach enables a countrywide agricultural flood solution for at-risk farmers and smallholders.

"Since its inception in 2014, ARC has shown that the parametric insurance model works and is impactful. We're excited to partner with Floodbase to complement our portfolio of innovative parametric solutions to support flood-vulnerable communities across Africa to help them quickly rebuild and recover following destructive flood events," said David Maslo, ARC Ltd. Head of Business Development.

The combination of ARC Ltd.'s region-specific specialisation and distribution network with Floodbase's unmatched flood data and expertise will significantly mitigate the impact of flooding, insure previously uninsurable flood risk, and foster resilience across the African continent.

About Floodbase

Floodbase - a data provider and reporting agent - partners with re/insurers and humanitarian organizations to profitably design, underwrite, and monitor parametric flood insurance products. Built on nearly a decade of groundbreaking science, our proprietary solution continuously monitors flooding worldwide. Pairing decades of historical flood data with near real-time monitoring makes it possible to cover large corporate and public sector clients against previously uninsurable economic loss from flooding.

Contact our team of experts at [email protected] to partner on parametric flood insurance solutions that help close the flood insurance gap.

About ARC Limited

The African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd.) is a financial affiliate of the African Risk Capacity (ARC), a specialised agency of the African Union (AU), an initiative designed to improve current responses to climate-related food security emergencies.

ARC Ltd. is a mutual insurance facility comprised of its members, which have included Kenya, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Mali, Malawi, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Zimbabwe, Togo, Madagascar, and Zambia.

The membership also includes its capital contributors who have provided premium subsidies, including USAID, FCDO SWISS, KFW/BMZ, IFAD, AFDB, WFP and STARTNETWORK.

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