The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has bought hurricane insurance from Cayman Islands-based CCRIF SPC to help deliver emergency aid faster after major storms.
The purchase makes WFP the first UN agency and multilateral organisation to obtain parametric insurance from the Caribbean disaster risk financing facility.
The two tropical cyclone policies cover Haiti and the Dominican Republic with a combined limit of US$11.6 million.
The coverage is designed to release funds within days if a policy is triggered, allowing WFP to provide food, cash transfers and other assistance without waiting for lengthy fundraising processes or on-the-ground damage assessments.
“WFP joining CCRIF is a milestone for CCRIF and for the Caribbean region,” said Isaac Anthony, CEO of CCRIF SPC in a press release on 22 October.
“It shows that parametric insurance is not only a tool for governments, but for every institution that stands on the front line when disaster strikes.
“We have always sought to innovate, so that more of the region’s people are protected, and this membership does exactly that.”
Parametric insurance pays out when predefined conditions linked to an event are met, rather than reimbursing losses after individual claims have been assessed.
CCRIF uses models to calculate a disaster’s impact on a covered area, allowing payments to be made within 14 days of a triggering event.
The policies could be particularly significant for the Dominican Republic, which is not yet a CCRIF member, as they give WFP a direct source of funding for emergency assistance if a covered storm triggers a payout.
“Every hurricane season poses a risk to thousands of families in the Dominican Republic,” said Alex Robayo, WFP representative and country director in the Dominican Republic.
“Having this financial protection in place allows us to ensure that assistance reaches those who need it most without lengthy resource mobilization processes, if a WFP policy triggers.
“This means food, support, and hope for vulnerable communities in the critical days following an extreme weather event, when every hour counts.”
Haiti has been a CCRIF member since 2007 and has received more than $80m in payouts under its sovereign policies covering tropical cyclones, excess rainfall and earthquakes, including related endorsements.
The most recent cited payout was for Hurricane Melissa in 2025.
WFP’s policy gives the organisation a separate route to receive insurance payouts for covered storms in Haiti, where more than half the population is experiencing acute or higher levels of food insecurity, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification results.
Lauren Landis, WFP country director in Haiti, said: “With more than half of all Haitians already experiencing acute or higher levels of food insecurity, shocks associated with extreme weather can push already-vulnerable families further into crisis.
“This insurance provides a predictable and rapidly activated financial tool, which may be triggered by a hurricane or major tropical storm, allowing WFP to help affected populations meet their most urgent needs while protecting their ability to recover.”
WFP’s entry brings CCRIF’s membership to 40. The facility’s total coverage for the 2026-27 policy year has risen by 25% to $1.8 billion from $1.44bn in the previous year, its largest single-year increase.
Since its establishment in 2007, CCRIF has made 83 payouts totalling more than $500m, benefiting more than five million people across the Caribbean and Central America.
All payouts were made within 14 days of a triggering event.
WFP previously worked with CCRIF through the Social Protection Top-up Model, which helps Caribbean and Central American governments expand support after disasters through national social protection systems.
Its new role as a direct policyholder allows WFP to finance emergency assistance itself, including when national systems are under strain or a government is not a CCRIF member.
