From risk transfer to resilience: Astrid Zwick on a decade of insurance development and the IDF’s evolving role

As the Insurance Development Forum marks its tenth anniversary, Dr. Astrid Zwick reflects on how the role of insurance in development has evolved from a narrow focus on risk transfer to a broader tool for resilience, preparedness and systemic change. Drawing on decades of experience at the intersection of insurance, climate policy and sustainable finance – and her role as Head of the GIZ Programme The Global Shield Secretariat – Astrid shares her perspective on the IDF’s most meaningful contributions to date, the lessons learned from public-private collaboration, and the priorities that will shape the next phase of the insurance development agenda.

Looking back over the past decade, how have you seen the role of insurance in development evolve, and where do you think the IDF has made its most meaningful contribution within that shift?

Insurance plays a crucial role in economic stability for governments, businesses, and individuals – especially in vulnerable countries that often lack effective coping mechanisms and crisis management. In these nations, development funds are frequently diverted to emergency responses, hindering long-term growth.

Insurance enables a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive risk management, making it key to economic prosperity in these regions. The Insurance Development Forum (IDF) has championed this vision, collaborating with initiatives like the Bridgetown Initiative. At the IDF Summit in June 2025, a landmark partnership was formed to integrate insurance more deeply into the global financial system, strengthening the resilience of the world’s most vulnerable economies.

From your perspective, what have been the IDF’s most important achievements in bringing together public and private sector actors around shared development and resilience goals?

From my perspective, the IDF’s most important achievements in fostering collaboration between public and private sector actors around shared development and resilience goals include 

1. The Tripartite Agreement with UNDP and Germany, which has successfully scaled up insurance solutions in vulnerable countries like Columbia, Nigeria and Ghana, demonstrating tangible impact.
2. The Resilient Planet Data Hub, launched at COP 28, which enhances data-driven resilience efforts.
3. The Risk Modelling Alliance, contributing to the operationalization of the Global Shield against Climate Risks.
4. The Resilience Infrastructure Fund, supporting critical small-scale infrastructure projects in most vulnerable countries.
5. The Integrated Disaster Risk Management Alliance (IDRIMA), formed with AFD and Expertise France, to strengthen disaster preparedness.
6. Exploring innovative initiatives like remittance-linked Insurance in the health sector, showcasing the IDF’s adaptability to emerging challenges.

These efforts – among many other important activities – highlight the IDF’s ability to bridge sectors, drive action, and deliver concrete solutions for resilience and development.

You have long championed the role of insurance as a tool for resilience rather than simply risk transfer. How has that thinking progressed in practice over the past 10 years, and where do you still see gaps?

In many vulnerable countries, pre-arranged financing is gaining political traction, driven by pioneering initiatives like regional risk pools CCRIF and ARC and inclusive insurance schemes. This marks a paradigm shift from reactive crisis response to proactive risk management, arranging financial recovery in advance.

However, protection gaps remain large. Insurance penetration is very low, with premiums making up only a small part of GDP. Globally, about 62% of economic losses from natural disasters are uninsured; in developing regions, only up to 5-7% of losses are covered according to OECD analysis. This leaves most losses in vulnerable countries uninsured and exposed to financial shocks.

Closing these gaps requires developing inclusive insurance markets and institutionalizing climate risk management. Comprehensive Disaster Risk Finance strategies need strong partnerships. Initiatives like the Global Shield against Climate Risks show promise and depend on effective implementation and private sector support. Expanding insurance capacity, including reinsurance, is also vital to meet growing climate and risk challenges.

What lessons do you think the insurance development community has learned – and still needs to learn – about working effectively with governments, development institutions and vulnerable communities?

First, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Building a larger consortium that brings together diverse stakeholders is essential to truly understand a country’s unique needs and to develop comprehensive, tailor-made solution packages.

Some critical success factors include:

• Putting the country in the driver’s seat: Local actors must lead the process to ensure solutions are sustainable and context-specific.
• Connecting and fostering collaboration among country actors: Governments, NGOs, insurers, and communities need to work closely to leverage synergies and avoid duplication.
• Identifying and activating existing policies and frameworks: Many countries already have climate and disaster management policies that remain unenacted. Recognizing and integrating these frameworks is crucial for effective implementation.

These lessons highlight that successful insurance development is not just about technical products but about social and institutional processes grounded in trust, participation, and local ownership. What still needs to be learned is how to systematically strengthen and institutionalize these processes for long-term impact and resilience

Looking ahead, what do you see as the most important priorities for the IDF and the wider insurance development agenda over the next five to ten years?

Looking ahead to the next five to ten years, the most important priorities for the IDF and the broader insurance development agenda lie in fundamentally shifting the International Finance Architecture. Achieving this will require tremendous collaborative effort across all levels.

The IDF is well positioned to meet this challenge and can further strengthen its role by deepening cooperation with international, regional, and national organizations. The goal is to establish well-designed risk finance mechanisms that provide appropriate protection covers at sovereign, business, and individual levels.

Trust is a key element in this process: only through mutual trust and a willingness to share knowledge and work under a common vision can sustainable progress be made. The IDF’s new strategy clearly sets out this shared vision, creating a strong foundation for forward-looking collaboration in insurance development.

In this way, the IDF will not only act as a catalyst but also as a reliable partner, actively shaping the transformation of the international finance architecture and enabling sustainable protection for all stakeholders.