Strengthening the Financial Resilience of Small-Scale Fishers in the Philippines
Monday, 3 January 2022 | By Climate High-Level Champions
Region: Philippines, Asia Pacific
Partner: ORRAA (Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance)
Implementing org: Rare
System: Coastal / Fisheries, Finance, Insurance
Breakthrough solution: Prearranged Risk Financing and Insurance Solutions (Finance)
Our partner the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) is working with its member Rare to protect the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and to build their resilience to shocks and climate-related weather events.
In the Philippines, small-scale fishers are vulnerable to increasing tropical cyclones, declining fish stocks, unstable markets due to the pandemic, and other uncertainties. Responding to these challenges, ORRAA is supporting the expansion of a pilot led by RARE to build a financial safety net for fishers through insurance access and literacy. Through the initiative, fishers can enrol in insurance to be protected financially from unexpected disasters, which will boost their ability to recover from unexpected losses.
The initiative provides two types of insurance for life/ accident/ property damage and healthcare cover to support fisher communities after suffering shocks. It also provides capacity building and training on insurance literacy, aiming to expand financial inclusion for the vulnerable population.
In the first two phases of the pilot, 8,144 people enrolled into active coverage (4079 in the initial pilot and 4065 in the phase two pilot) and over half the subscribers are women working in the fisheries sector. Over 2,760 members of the community have been trained in insurance literacy. Overall, the insurance pilot will benefit 33,390 fisheries-dependent people.
This work has grown since the initial successful pilot and has now expanded its offerings to 128 new saving clubs in the Philippines and is being replicated as a pilot in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The relief from financial pressures that basic livelihood insurance provides allows fishers to participate more fully and effectively in sustainable management of their local fisheries and provides economic resilience needed to respond to and recover from emergencies.
