This issue brings together leading voices from across sectors—government, civil society, international organizations, and the private sector—to share practical insights, policy recommendations, and lived experiences of designing and deploying parametric solutions. From SEWA’s pioneering work with informal women workers to InRisk Labs’ innovations in heat-risk financing, the articles chart a compelling roadmap for inclusive climate adaptation. With a strong emphasis on collaboration and innovation, the publication calls for greater investment, data infrastructure, and policy alignment to mainstream parametric insurance as a critical pillar of disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in South Asia and beyond. Certainly, this will take some, meanwhile each state in India can have its own pilot that directly protects the poor, women, workers, migrants, tribals, and all minorities with parametric insurance solutions.
In this issue:
- Universal Extreme Heat Protection: Will India’s Insurance Sector Lead?
Mihir R. Bhatt, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India - Developing and Upscaling Innovative Parametric Insurance Solutions
Shishir Agarwal, Senior Consultant Disaster Risk Financing and Risk Transfer, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), India - The Journey and Lessons of AIDMI’s Risk Transfer and Insurance
Vishal Pathak, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India - Heat Adaptation Finance for Women – Applying Insurance to Solve a Disproportionate Burden
Kathy Baughman McLeod, Mary McBryde, and Visala Annamalai, Climate Resilience for All, Washington DC & Cape Town - UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF): Parametric Insurance Solutions
Sumanta Kumar Sahoo, National Programme Coordinator, UNDP India - Parametric Insurance and Extreme Heat: SEWA’s Experience
Dr. Sahil Hebbar, SEWA, India - InRisk Labs: Pioneering Parametric Insurance for Extreme Heat in India
Malay Kumar Poddar, MD, InRisk Labs, India - Key Points for Action to Make Parametric Insurance for Extreme Heat a Reality
Anshul Khurana, Cofounder, Entitled Solutions, India - Parametric Insurance – Building Financial Resilience for Rural India
Samdarshi Vikram Singh, Vice President, Government Business Group, Future Generali India Insurance Company Ltd., India - The Health Impact of Climate Change on Gig Workers in Indian Cities: Exploring Parametric-plus Insurance as a Climate Adaptation Approach
Suma Pathy, Population Services International (PSI), India - Leveraging Parametric Insurance for Addressing Extreme Heat Risk
AIDMI Team, India - Locally Led Actions to Combat the Impacts of Heatwaves
Mihir R. Bhatt and Vishal Pathak, AIDMI, India