Niue Invests In Disaster Resilience With PCRIC Insurance

Cook Islands, 7 November 2023 (NZT 8 November 2023) - Joining a growing number of governments throughout the Pacific region intent on ensuring a greater capacity to withstand the financial impact of natural disasters on their nations, the Government of Niue recently secured valuable coverage for the island nation through purchase of a tropical cyclone parametric insurance policy provided by Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC).

This outcome emerged from bilateral discussions between PCRIC and the Niue Finance Secretary, Ms. Doreen Siataga, during the 2023 Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) in Suva held in August. During this event, the PCRIC team presented a detailed explanation of the financial protection offerings available to safeguard against disasters.

Following in-depth discussions, a formal Commitment Letter was received from Niue, underscoring their interest and commitment. Additionally, Niue participated virtually as an Observer in the recent PCRIC Council of Members meeting held in Morocco in October.

Niue’s insurance policy will ensure that should pre-agreed parameters be exceeded during a cyclone event impacting the nation, this will trigger the payment of an agreed amount of funds directly to the national government for use as they prioritise on relief, recovery or resilience measures. This will occur in as little as 10 days following advent of the disaster.

PCRIC CEO, Mr. Aholotu Palu congratulated Niue for their proactive approach to fortifying national finances in the face of devastating natural disasters. “The PCRIC Board and Management Team thank the Government of Niue for trusting PCRIC to be their key partner in offering financial protection against disasters for their nation. As our membership grows, we endeavor to secure more premium support funding to support our member countries in the future. It is hoped that more regional nations will partner with PCRIC and choose readiness, not regret.”

The PCRIC Parametric (Agreed Valuation) Insurance Policy was signed by the Secretary of Government, Ms. Peleni Talagi, on behalf of the Niue Government. This collaborative involvement signifies a significant step forward in acquiring disaster risk financing opportunities and strengthening resilience within the region.

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