TOKYO -- Japan will work with Southeast Asian nations like Laos and Myanmar to provide immediate financing after natural disasters so that recovery funds can be quickly distributed.
The Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility will be announced in May at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank's board of governors. Operations are slated to begin in 2019.
Participating countries will make the insurance payouts while Japan provides initial support through funding. The facility will invest funds it has accumulated and take out reinsurance from private insurers in Japan and elsewhere.
The facility is meant to provide rapid financial relief after typhoons, earthquakes and other disasters. In a flood, for example, it will determine payouts based on precipitation levels -- a faster method than the current one that relies on on-site inspections to assess damage.
Japan's Ministry of Finance has been working to set up the new insurance framework in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, and it could eventually be extended to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The facility aims to reduce financial risk in Southeast Asia, where large losses from frequent natural disasters could destabilize the finances of afflicted countries. A 2015 flood in Myanmar was estimated to cost $1.5 billion, for instance. Japan seeks to curb this risk by offering insurance expertise and financial support.
source: https://asia.nikkei.com