Scaling insurance for climate resilience in Africa

The report evaluates how South Africa's sophisticated insurance industry can be leveraged to bridge a R2.3bn annual disaster funding gap and improve climate resilience. While the country has high insurance penetration (10%), non-life coverage remains low among vulnerable groups due to affordability and regulatory costs. The document highlights opportunities in index-based agricultural insurance, municipal risk pooling, and the integration of insurance into social grant systems via SASSA. It also identifies significant transition risks for insurers due to the economy's reliance on carbon-intensive assets and recommends streamlining Public-Private Partnership (PPP) regulations to incentivise private sector investment in adaptation.

• South Africa faces severe climate vulnerability, with temperatures rising at twice the global average. Between 2019 and 2024, the country recorded 31 natural disasters, and without adaptation, GDP losses could reach 5.03% by 2050 if global warming exceeds 2°C.
• The South African insurance sector is highly exposed to both physical and transition risks. Transition risks are particularly acute compared to Kenya and Malawi because of the economy's heavy reliance on carbon-intensive industries, with coal providing over 70% of primary energy consumption.

APA

African Climate Foundation (2024). Scaling insurance for climate resilience in Africa. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SouthAfricaFinal2December.pdf

Chicago

African Climate Foundation. Scaling insurance for climate resilience in Africa. 2024. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SouthAfricaFinal2December.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=African Climate Foundation |title=Scaling insurance for climate resilience in Africa |date=2024 |url=https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SouthAfricaFinal2December.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{africanclimatefoundation2024scaling, author = {{African Climate Foundation}}, title = {{Scaling insurance for climate resilience in Africa}}, institution = {African Climate Foundation}, year = {2024}, url = {https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SouthAfricaFinal2December.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }