APAC: Governments push insurance to close disaster risk gap
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Mar 2026
Across ASEAN, disaster risk is increasingly being treated as a material fiscal risk, prompting finance ministries to move away from reliance on post-disaster budget reallocations and ad hoc assistance.
Instead, insurance and other forms of pre-arranged risk financing are emerging as core tools within public financial management frameworks. SEADRIF Insurance Company Executive Director Benedikt Signer said this policy shift is evident at the regional level, most notably through the institutionalisation of the ASEAN+3 Disaster Risk Finance Initiative as a standing agenda item for senior financial policymakers.
“The move sends a clear political signal to markets, helping to create sustained demand, policy continuity and greater confidence for private-sector participation in disaster risk financing,” he said. At the national level, several ASEAN countries are taking the lead. The Philippines is leading regional efforts by expanding its domestic insurance market and sovereign risk transfer programmes, while Indonesia is increasingly using insurance as a strategic tool to strengthen public sector risk management.
When asked about potential data gaps that still exist in modelling flood and typhoon risk in southeast Asia, Mr Signer said data gaps remain most acute in flood risk, despite a wave of new modelling approaches entering the market.
He said the most significant deficiencies are in pluvial flooding, particularly in mountainous and densely urbanised areas. A