Mexico

Protecting vulnerable groups through insurance and policy development

To protect smallholder farmers from flooding and drought, UNDP has pioneered a parametric insurance solution, in collaboration with Mexico’s government and as part of the Tripartite Agreement (TPA) – a public-private partnership between UNDP, 20 of the world’s largest insurers under the framework of the Insurance Development Forum and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). UNDP is also partnering with government to support insurance market development, increase technical capacity and strengthen risk finance strategic frameworks, focusing especially on biodiversity and climate change resilience.

Supporting biodiversity and agriculture through innovative insurance

UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility and BIOFIN conducted a three-month Insurance Innovation Challenge in Mexico. The objective of the challenge is to foster creative insurance solutions capable of  addressing significant impacts of climate change across the country. The main focus is on two key fields: agriculture and nature. One winning solution was selected in each field, and both winners have received $10,000 USD in financial support as well as technical assistance to develop their solutions.

UNDP and partners are implementing a pilot project for smallholder coffee farmers in south-eastern Mexico. This project focuses on risk prevention and mitigation through sustainable production practices and financial inclusion, as well as risk transfer through parametric insurance. The primary objective is to test the role of insurance in enhancing financial resilience for farmers and the coffee value chain by promoting new practices, guaranteeing investments and increasing access to finance. Coffee traders will cover the premium costs, and a scheme for distributing these costs throughout the supply chain will be explored.

UNDP is implementing a six-month Health and Financial Resilience Programme for women with three main components: gender-sensitive financial education, access to a life insurance product with medical assistance, and personalized mentorship. Initially benefiting 200 women, the project aims to scale up to 3,000 women. While the programme is free, participants will pay for the insurance product at a subsidized cost. This insurance product, developed exclusively for the programme, addresses women’s specific needs and circumstances as identified in the initial diagnostic assessment.