The General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) has launched an initiative to pool the Nat CAT underwriting capacities of insurers at the Arab level and not only at the level of each country. This is the Arab Initiative for Natural Disaster Reduction that was launched in October 2022.
Mr. Chakib Abouzaid, GAIF secretary-general, says in a statement that a number of regulatory authorities and Arab and international insurance and reinsurance companies have responded to the initiative. Through them, a joint Arab solution has been put forward to establish an Arab pool of insurance and reinsurance companies, according to a report by the publication Alwal Alghad.
Plans for the pool include collecting all data about natural disasters, in addition to drawing up disaster maps for each Arab country and developing catastrophe modelling.
Mr. Abouzaid said, “We have successful national experiences in our Arab countries that can be built upon to increase the level of protection in all countries and narrow the insurance gap. GAIF believes in the necessity of unifying the efforts of the Arab region as a single entity to maintain security and stability and protect its people.
Arab Coordination Mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction
The initiative was discussed at the fifth meeting of the Arab Coordination Mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction held in Rabat on 20-22 June 2023. Representatives of Arab countries and a number of Arab and international organizations that are engaged in disaster risk reduction as well as a group of experts attended the meeting. GAIF was represented by Mr. Abouzaid.
The meeting constitutes an important platform for enhancing cooperation and coordination at the regional and international levels in the field of disaster risk reduction. It is part of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) and the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030 in the Arab region, both of which aim to reduce disaster risks.
The framework introduces several changes, the most important of which is the strong emphasis on disaster risk management rather than focusing solely on disaster management. In addition, the scope of disaster risk reduction has been expanded to include a focus on natural and man-made hazards and related environmental, technological and biological risks and hazards.
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