Extreme heat triggers novel payout for over 46,000 women in India
First ever combined insurance and loss of income policy pays out to thousands of women
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Extreme heat temperatures in India triggered insurance and cash payments in the states of Rajasthan, and Gujarat, and 22 districts. Ninety-two percent of the 50,000 women enrolled in the Women’s Climate Shock and Insurance and Livelihoods Initiative (WCS) received insurance payments.
The WCS was launched during COP28 by Climate Resilience for All--architects of the program and experts on financial solutions for addressing extreme heat-in partnership with Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and Swiss Re.
The participants of the WCS work in eight trades across 22 districts in India, earning an average of three dollars per day. Women informal workers are disproportionately harmed by climate impacts – many of them work outdoors and in dangerously hot indoor conditions and report year-round rashes, miscarriages, urinary tract infections, dizziness, crop losses, melted merchandise, loss of income, and more.
The WCS is a new and unique initiative combining layers of protection. It has parametric insurance covering extreme heat days, and a layer of income support directly to the individual when there are harmful heat waves. Further, the program is piloting an early warning system and corresponding targeted actionable guidance for specific communities and geographies. Lastly, the program is bringing new participants into the financial system with bank accounts so they can receive the money quickly and directly.
With a scalable model for sustaining income due to climate impacts performing; the approach suggests that governments and companies across the world could build climate, health, and economic resilience for societies across the world by adopting it.
Veronica Scotti, Chair of Public Sector Solutions at Swiss Re:
''I'm proud Swiss Re's technical expertise was behind the design and structuring of this innovative parametric microinsurance solution. It's fulfilling of our purpose to build resilience, that over 46'000 women have benefited from our earnings protection cover following the recent extreme heat waves in India.''