The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, and QBE Asia, a division of QBE Insurance Group, have collaborated to enhance resilience against climate-related risks in the Asia-Pacific property insurance sector.
This initiative leverages the Building Resilience Index (BRI), an IFC-developed web-based framework that evaluates climate risks for real estate.
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QBE Asia is the first insurance company to participate in the BRI programme since its 2021 pilot, the press release stated.
The partnership intends to expand BRI’s application to benefit developers, homebuyers, financial institutions and government entities.
Joint efforts will include promoting BRI adoption through workshops and training in various markets such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
IFC Singapore and Brunei country manager Katia Daude Gonçalves said: “Together with QBE, we are determined to help close the property insurance gap while promoting resilient development across the region.”
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By GlobalDataThe companies aim to offer insurance products that support resilient climate-friendly construction, especially in vulnerable areas like the Pacific, by providing preferential rates for high BRI-rated buildings, sustainable pricing and faster claims.
Additionally, the partnership will investigate the integration of BRI and QBE’s risk-modelling tools to enhance property risk assessments.
QBE Asia wholesale markets CEO Ronak Shah stated: “A key feature of this partnership is the development of innovative insurance solutions for building owners and operators. Rewarding building resilience through favourable underwriting terms and conditions for properties with high BRI ratings, for example, is one such solution. Another is to improve risk modelling by combining our data and technology.
“By both incentivising resilience and leveraging our technological capabilities, not only will we help build more resilience overall; we will also improve our own risk-taking capabilities as well.”
Earlier this year, QBE renewed its partnership with Pen Underwriting in the UK and Ireland, exceeding 25 years of continuous capacity provision.
The renewal in specialist areas will result in QBE providing more than £400m ($541.45m) in premiums over the duration of the agreements.
