In brief
The UN, led by OCHA, has added a $40 million insurance line to its anticipatory action portfolio, with insurers stepping in when demand exceeds a threshold. The scheme was announced by WAM, while OCHA’s own website lists the program but the page is currently unavailable. Reuters and other outlets have not yet published details. The program will cover vulnerable households and communities, allowing them to pre‑purchase food, protect assets or relocate before a disaster strikes.
The United Nations announced on 3 November 2026 the launch of an insurance scheme that could unlock up to US$40 million in additional funding for anticipatory humanitarian action, according to a report from the Washington Arab Media (WAM). The program, led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in partnership with UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP), aims to safeguard communities in high‑risk years where simultaneous emergencies strain resources.
WAM notes that the scheme will allow OCHA to allocate funding when forecasts predict an approach, and if demand exceeds an agreed‑upon threshold insurers will contribute. Gallagher Re structures the coverage while Liberty Mutual serves as the lead insurer, and the Centre for Disaster Protection offers technical advice.
Tom Fletcher, UN Under‑Secretary‑General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the scheme provides "an additional line of defence to protect more people before conditions deteriorate," emphasizing the need for advance preparedness.
In a separate OCHA press release the UN described the programme as a first‑of‑its‑kind insurance programme that could unlock up to US$40 million in additional funding, but the page was unreachable at the time of this article, with the OCHA website returning a 404 error. The OCHA page title suggested the same message, but no additional detail or quotes were available from that source.
Reports from the newswire agency BigNewsNetwork, released two hours after the WAM report, echo that the United Nations launched an insurance scheme providing up to US$40 million in additional funding to help vulnerable households and communities, but give no further specifics beyond the insurance description.
