Fairfirst Insurance co-partners with IWMI for Climate Risk Management in Sri Lanka

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in partnership with Fairfirst Insurance and Epic Research & Innovations recently organised a workshop on agricultural insurance in Sri Lanka. The workshop was aimed at bringing together various stakeholders in order to understand how insurance can contribute to agricultural and rural development.

With a general increase in extreme weather calamities all over the world including Sri Lanka, many institutions have begun to place considerable importance on Agricultural Risk Management. Between the years of 2000 to 2017 a total of 33 flood events were reported with 8.736 million people affected and economic losses amounting to an approximate $ 2 billion. (Source: IWMI reports) 

In this context, the workshop discussed the role of agricultural insurance in terms of minimising the immediate and long term financial impacts of extreme weather events. Speaking at the event was Fairfirst Insurance Managing Director and CEO Dr. Sanjeev Jha. “We are happy to be in dialogue with IWMI and Epic Research and Innovations on this initiative. We are confident that our learnings and expertise both locally and globally, via Fairfax our parent company, will contribute to bridging the existing knowledge and protection gap in Sri Lanka on climate risk Management” 

The workshop also brought forth a panel of international and national experts to discuss weather data, ICT early warnings, insurance products, policy, planning and institutional imperatives for upscale risk insurance in Sri Lanka. “To help policy makers better manage climate risks, IWMI and the CGIAR Research Program CCAFS (Climate Change, Agriculture & Food security) and WLE (Water, Land and Eco-systems) are implanting innovative flood insurance in South Asia. This will bring the much needed practical expertise in the implementation of comprehensive climate risk solutions to Sri Lanka,” said Giriraj Amarnath, Research Group Leader: Water Risks and Disasters at IWMI. 

Also, speaking at the event was Claudia Sadoff, Director General, IWMI and Chief Guest Manjula Silva, Chairman, National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF). “We are thankful to our co-partners Epic Research & Innovations and Fairfirst Insurancefor being a part of such a unique knowledge forum in building new partnerships in Sri Lanka. Fairfirst as a leading general insurer has much to offer and we hope to work closely into the future and build community resilience against disasters if the people facing the hazard are insured,” stated IWMI Director General Claudia Sadoff. 

The International Water Management Institute is a non-profit, scientific research organisation focusing on the sustainable use of water and land resources in developing countries. They also work in partnership with governments, civil society and the private sector to develop scalable agricultural water management solutions. 

Today, Fairfirst serves individuals, businesses and institutions across this beautiful island through a versatile workforce spread across a comprehensive branch network, affinity partners and leading brokers in the market.

Fairfirst Insurance is part of the Canadian based Fairfax Group. Fairfax, through its subsidiaries, has an international insurance and reinsurance business with a global underwriting reach, longstanding relationships and a broad product range. Fairfax has a strong foothold in the growing insurance and reinsurance markets of Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Brazil.