THE Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) is fast tracking parametric micro-insurance to help low-income Fijians and small businesses recover quickly from disasters.

This type of insurance pays out automatically when certain triggers happen, such as a cyclone reaching a set wind speed and is faster and cheaper to run.

The RBF is working with SUN Insurance, Tower Insurance and overseas partners to expand it across Fiji, the bank stated in the RBF Insurance Annual Report 2024 tabled in Parliament this week.

The report shows the bank’s support for new, more resilient insurance models, as rising costs and extreme weather strain traditional policies.

By rolling out parametric cover, the RBF aims to help rural and vulnerable families bounce back from disasters without long claim delays.

RBF said the insurance industry ended 2024 in good financial shape.

But it warned that rising claims and higher reinsurance costs could “hamper the Fijian insurance industry’s earnings performance.”

With more extreme weather events happening worldwide, climate risk is now a major threat to the industry.

The report noted however that “the insurance industry remained resilient and maintained a solvency surplus position, as well as satisfactory earnings and liquidity level.”

The central bank stated it would keep pushing policies to build resilience and make operations sustainable.

It said Fiji’s insurance assets and premium income remained solid but warned costs and risks could squeeze profits if left unchecked.

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Note: This article was first published under the headline: Parametric cover for vulnerable households in Page 13 of the print version of The Fiji Times dated Wednesday, October 1, 2025