SEADRIF issues $3m payout to Laos

Donor governments include Japan and Singapore.

SEADRIF and the Laos’ Ministry of Finance held a ceremony to present a $3m payout from the country’s parametric flood insurance policy. The payout was triggered by damages caused by Typhoon Yagi.

At the event, Lao PDR’s Minister of Finance, H.E. Santiphab Phomvihane, welcomed SEADRIF Executive Director Benedikt Signer, Acting Country Manager of the World Bank in Lao PDR Viengsamay Srithirath, and Junichiro Matsuyama, First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Vientiane. Senior officials from key government departments, including the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, were also in attendance. Discussions focused on the importance of disaster risk financing and maintaining insurance coverage to support recovery from future natural disasters.

Phomvihane emphasised the value of ongoing collaboration with SEADRIF, the World Bank, and donor governments such as Japan and Singapore in building financial resilience to climate shocks. 

The visit included a training session for government officials on the management of payouts, aligned with the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework.