At the CIIN Forum in September 2023, Lawrence Nazare, Group Managing Director of Continental Re, highlighted Africa’s natural disaster insurance gap and the need for climate risk financing reform.
Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe demonstrated that only 7% of $2 billion in economic losses were insured, exposing a significant gap.
Africa faces increasing climate disasters, particularly floods and droughts, and Nazare made urgent recommendations for climate resilience, including stress-testing exposure, portfolio rebalancing, risk mitigation, regulatory collaboration, and innovative risk products.
He called for climate justice, as Africa bears disproportionate impacts despite low greenhouse gas emissions. The forum stressed the importance of action and collaboration to address Africa’s insurance gap in the face of rising climate risks.
