The United Nations has launched an insurance programme designed to provide up to $40 mn in additional humanitarian funding when multiple disasters threaten communities simultaneously, increasing demand for assistance before emergencies occur.
The initiative is led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), working with UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP). It provides financial protection for anticipatory action, allowing humanitarian organisations to expand assistance when forecasts indicate approaching disasters and available funding comes under pressure.
- The UN has introduced insurance coverage providing up to $40 mn in additional humanitarian funding when simultaneous disaster threats place exceptional pressure on available resources.
- The policy pays directly to CERF when cumulative anticipatory action allocations exceed $61.5 mn, a threshold corresponding to a one-in-10-year event.
- Gallagher Re structured and placed the coverage, with Liberty Mutual as lead insurer, while UNICEF arranged parallel protection for its $5 mn investment.
Disasters don’t wait for us to get our act together. We need to be ready before they strike. This insurance gives us another line of defence against disaster so we can protect more people before the worst hits and make every dollar work harder.
Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator
Gallagher Re structured and placed the insurance coverage, with Liberty Mutual serving as lead insurer. The Centre for Disaster Protection provided independent technical advice.
How the UN’s $40 mn humanitarian insurance coverage works
Under the arrangement, OCHA allocates funding for early humanitarian interventions when disaster forecasts trigger predefined response measures.
If cumulative anticipatory action allocations from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) exceed $61.5 mn during the policy period, the insurance provides additional financing.
The threshold corresponds to a one-in-10-year event, with the policy offering a maximum payout of $40 mn directly to CERF.
Unlike conventional catastrophe insurance, the coverage does not compensate for physical property damage. It protects pre-arranged humanitarian financing against exceptionally high demand when several disasters occur or threaten to occur within the same period.
OCHA’s existing $150 mn anticipatory action portfolio covers more than 5 mn people. The insurance is intended to protect these commitments during periods of exceptional demand while limiting the financial resources OCHA must allocate in particularly difficult years.
By capping that exposure, the mechanism could allow humanitarian organisations to extend early assistance to additional communities.
Early disaster financing helps families prepare before floods
Anticipatory action uses disaster forecasts to trigger assistance before an emergency causes losses, rather than waiting until affected populations require relief.
In Bangladesh, a woman named Salma received cash assistance from WFP, financed through CERF, approximately 24 hours before flooding in 2024.
She used the money to purchase dry food, candles and firewood, while raising her bed and livestock pens above the expected floodwater level. “We managed to cook and eat, which brought us relief during the crisis,” she said.
The approach gives households access to resources before a disaster, allowing them to purchase essential supplies, protect property and livestock, or relocate to safer areas.
UNICEF secures parallel insurance for $5 mn investment
UNICEF has arranged separate insurance coverage protecting its $5 mn co-investment across 10 inter-agency anticipatory action frameworks.
The policy uses the same risk data, parameters and models as the CERF insurance arrangement, providing coordinated financial protection for the participating agencies.
Specialist insurance teams from UNICEF and WFP supported market engagement and placement activities for their respective policies.
The programme has also been structured to accommodate additional humanitarian agencies and partners over time.
Financial and technical support for the initiative came from the Global Shield Financing Facility, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
The insurance mechanism establishes an additional source of humanitarian financing when forecast-based disaster response requirements exceed the agreed threshold, helping participating UN agencies maintain early assistance during periods of simultaneous emergencies.
