Major reinsurer
Swiss Re is cooperating with Taiwan Fire & Marine Insurance to develop the first parametric insurance product to protect Taiwanese fish farmers from the damages caused by excessive rainfall.
The aquaculture insurance scheme will cover 120,000 hectares of onshore grouper fish ponds in Ping Tung county in Taiwan. Backed by Swiss Re’s reinsurance capital, the insurance will automatically pay out if rainfall exceeds 480mm for two consecutive days.
The insurance will serve to transfer the risks brought by excessive rainfall, including rain caused by typhoons, which can bring flash floods that overflow fish ponds and cause loss of fish stock.
It’s the first parametric insurance of its type in Taiwan, using meteorological data for rain levels to ensure quick payout. It reduces claim release times and eliminates the need for a claims process and investigation to quantify losses.
“Through the mechanism of the parametric insurance, we want to build resilience for the local fisheries and close the protection gap of the aquaculture industry in Taiwan,” Harini Kannan, head of Agriculture Reinsurance for Asia at Swiss Re, said. “We are proud to see that our first parametric aquaculture insurance solution has attracted strong interests, which we hope will benefit other countries within Asia in the near future.”
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