Mr. Benedikt Signer, Executive Director of SEADRIF Insurance Company, participated in the panel titled 'Building Resilience to Disaster Risk: Leveraging Insurance' at the Global Development Forum on 23 April 2025. He was joined by Ekhosuehi Iyahen, Secretary General of IDF; Bridget Gainer, Global Head of Public Affairs and Policy at AON; and Lindelwe Lesley Ndlovu, CEO of ARC Ltd., to discuss how innovations in the insurance industry and associated public policies can advance essential resilience and development investments through pre-arranged financing.
Mr. Signer introduced the role of SEADRIF in bridging industry expertise and the growing demand for managing risks caused by rapid urbanization and infrastructure development in the ASEAN region. He emphasized SEADRIF's efforts to help governments bring more risks to the market more efficiently, scaling up protection and building financial resilience for the region.
In the discussion, Mr. Signer highlighted that, beyond the direct benefits of payouts from insurance, it is important to recognize that insurance brings discipline, transparency, and predictability. Governments gain, to some extent, certainty about how funding will flow when disasters strike. These funds, set up in advance, will be used for their intended purpose, thereby fostering discipline across the entire economy. Furthermore, insurance drives behavior change throughout the economy.
The panel was expertly moderated by Noam Unger, Director at CSIS. SEADRIF appreciates the insightful discussion and extends its gratitude to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for the invitation.
Please watch full panel here: https://www.csis.org/events/csis-2025-gdf-building-resilience-disaster-risks-leveraging-insurance