IDF partners with Bridgetown Initiative to boost insurance in emerging markets

By Rebecca Delaney

June 5 - (The Insurer) - The Insurance Development Forum (IDF) has penned a strategic partnership with the Bridgetown Initiative, it announced on Thursday.

The partnership is aimed at accelerating the integration of insurance into the international financial architecture of emerging markets and developing economies.

The Bridgetown Initiative calls for reform the global financial system, and is led by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, with a focus on climate finance and debt relief in developing countries.

According to the IDF, the impact of climate-related catastrophes as a share of GDP is around 10 times more severe in least developed countries compared to the richest countries.

Natural disasters often lead to the postponement of development plans, with hard-won development gains often lost. Strengthening the physical and economic resilience of these economies is essential in order to unlock greater investment and support critical development and growth agendas.

The strategic partnership is therefore focused on elevating insurance as a "central enabler in the global response" to climate and other natural disaster risks.

The IDF and the Bridgetown Initiative will publish a seminal paper during London Climate Action Week later this month, with specific recommendations for different actors across the public and private sectors, including governments, multilateral development banks, bilateral donors and regulators.

The paper is supported by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The upcoming paper will provide a clear pathway to embed insurance within development finance strategies and support countries in strengthening their long-term resilience," said Ekhosuehi Iyahen, secretary general of the IDF.

"We are united by a shared commitment to move beyond theory to implementation."

In the second step of the partnership, the Bridgetown Initiative will engage with the COP30 presidency and other stakeholders focused on climate-vulnerable countries to include insurance in global international financial architecture reform.

At the same time, the IDF will lead the technical design and execution of insurance solutions in countries where the approach proposed in the paper can be demonstrated, as well as ensuring representation of the insurance industry in high-level policy reform platforms.