Rebuilding trust in disaster insurance key to protecting producers, forum hears

Fisherfolk and farmers have held a crucial community dialogue aimed at overcoming deep-seated scepticism towards insurance and improving access to climate and disaster risk insurance—a move seen as vital as the country prepares for a potentially severe hurricane season.

Rebuilding trust in disaster coverage is the first step towards protecting producers’ livelihoods, according to climate finance consultant Christon Herbert.

“I think it’s obvious to see—and I’ve done these sessions across the entire Caribbean—there’s a general level of mistrust with insurance that we can’t get away from,” Herbert told the forum, jointly hosted by the Barbados Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (BANGO), the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), and the Multi-Actor Partnership on Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI).

“It’s something I see in Dominica; it’s something I see in Jamaica; it’s something I see in Antigua and Barbuda. But there’s a point where, for instance, what CPDC is doing here is important. Because we’re trying, let’s say, to rebuild that trust. We’re trying to ensure that people know insurance is not their enemy—but you just need to be able to negotiate terms that will benefit you.”

The forum took place as Barbados and the Caribbean brace for what is forecast to be an extremely active hurricane season. It sought to raise awareness among frontline producers about climate and disaster risk finance and insurance (CDRFI) tools such as catastrophe savings, hurricane-linked parametric insurance, and micro-level agricultural protection schemes.

Herbert said that while many remain sceptical, communities must start engaging meaningfully with insurance providers and policymakers to shape financial solutions tailored to their vulnerabilities.

“Also come to meetings where we can speak about the problems with affordability and access, and have the right people in the right places when we have these discussions,” he added. “So, for instance, when an insurance company comes to Barbados and wants to engage in fisheries insurance, they come to the Barbados Fisheries Division, they come to the CSO representative for fisheries and they engage. Because that is where the premiums become, let’s say, more acceptable to people.”

Citing Hurricane Beryl’s devastating toll on the sector last year, Herbert stressed the urgency of financial preparedness. “I was reading that over 60 per cent of the boats in Barbados were damaged, and 88 boats were destroyed. So, that already is a significant impact on what we could do. Fishing, and as well, you know, our food security as Barbadian nationals as well.”

He explained that CDRFI strategies aim to ensure quick and reliable access to funds after disasters, highlighting the importance of combining traditional insurance models with innovative tools like parametric policies triggered by wind speeds, or community-level savings schemes akin to “meeting turns” or “sous-sous.”

“It may not cover the extensive amount of damage that you face,” he said of parametric coverage, “but it will give you enough to . . . get new rods, new equipment, new seeds, seedlings . . . it will give you enough to restart your process and restart rebuilding.”

Chief Fisheries Officer Dr Shelly-Ann Cox welcomed the initiative, calling it “the start of a collaborative relationship” to build “affordable and much-needed safety and security nets for our fisherfolk.”

She stressed the importance of aligning policy and practice, pointing to the upcoming June 18–19 Fisheries Division research symposium at the Hilton Barbados as another space for stakeholders to discuss parametric insurance models and other risk reduction tools.

“Everyone is quite aware of what happened just almost a year ago now on July 1 with Beryl and the fact that we need to be proactive in how we go about making sure that we’re prepared for all extreme weather events—not just hurricanes,” she said. “We have seen several other climate hazards—sargassum as well—that we have had to respond to.”

Dr Cox noted that legislative reform is already underway to create a framework for national climate adaptation and disaster planning, with vessel insurance and wreck removal among the top priorities.

“Partnering with people who are experts in these areas will help us craft a premium that will be adapted to our circumstances,” she said. “This is why collaborations like these are quite necessary.”

She affirmed that the Fisheries Division remains committed to serving the industry as it evolves under the pressures of climate change and economic transition.

“We cannot do anything without you,” Cox told the fishers and farmers present. “Our work and our mandate is to serve the industry, and we have been doing that for 81 years . . . We continue to do it if God gives us the strength and energy for another 100 years.”

The session forms part of a regional thrust by civil society groups and development partners to localise disaster finance solutions in highly climate-vulnerable industries. Herbert underscored that the time for action is now.

“For us, it’s more important to find ways that we recover efficiently, because we know the impacts will happen, especially as we approach the hurricane season,” he said. (SZB)