B. Advanced Preparedness Actions plus contingency planning
Definition
The ERP − APA clusters the wide range of activities under two broad categories: 1) (various) advanced preparedness actions and 2) contingency planning.
STEPS
Out of these categories, only those activities are selected which are of specific relevance for the insurance focus of the publication:
Brief Description
The APA builds on the MPAs but responds to a specific risk and aims at guiding the Humanitarian Country Team and sector institutions (e.g. MoA) to an advanced level of readiness. This considers the results of the MPA gaps analysis and further tasks that may have started under the MPA, such as developing an information sharing and media strategy, reviewing of Standard Operating Procedures and developing an inter-agency response planning task force.
The second component is contingency planning that fosters a common understanding of all partners involved and defines the response strategy and an operational plan to meet critical humanitarian needs. The contingency plan is one component of the overall response planning process.
Box 15: National Drought Mitigation Centre: 10-Step Drought Planning Process for Response (Lesukat, 2012)
- Appoint a drought task force or committee.
- State the purpose and objective of the drought mitigation plan.
- Seek stakeholder input and resolve conflicts.
- Inventory resources and identify groups at risk.
- Prepare and write the drought mitigation plan.
- Identify research needs and fill institutional gaps.
- Integrate science and policy.
- Publicize the drought mitigation plan and build awareness and consensus.
- Develop education programmes.
- Evaluate and revise drought mitigation plans.
Involved Actors
See the introduction section of the “Preparedness” phase.
SYNERGIES: INSURANCE AND APA PREPAREDNESS
Stocktaking helps affected population to re-start faster and lessen suffering if index insurance payout was not triggered
Fodder and grain storage helps livestock to overcome extreme weather events and affected farmers to re-start planting. This is particularly important if the insurance product does not trigger a payout due to the basis risk.
EXAMPLE: Grain reserves, part of ARC contingency plans, enable farmers to restart business quickly and national food aid systems can reduce the cost of food aid and food assistance disbursements.
Insurance for relief facilities/ materials speed up response programmes
If relief material and storage facilities are to be insured, the government would have quick funds available for replacing damaged emergency supplies and contributing to applying the concept of building back better to evacuation centres and storage facilities.
Macro level insurance contingency plans benefit the vulnerable population
As macro level indirect insurance payouts are not always spent in a way that benefits affected populations, contingency plans can be an effective tool when defining target groups for disseminating payouts to the affected poor and vulnerable population.
Defining payout processes and identifying delivery channels contribute to quick insurance payouts that enable the affected population and government to start response and resilient recovery programmes faster.
EXAMPLE: ARC incorporates all aspects in the contingency plans of its insured member countries. The contingency plans should be considered as strategies for the ‘response’ phase and integrated into national planning processes (see Box 17).
(Re)insurance data useful for preparedness (contingency plans)
Contingency plans are most effective when integrated into an emergency preparedness framework, for instance by defining that payouts are to be spent for prevention, response and recovery. (Re)insurers’ data contribute to funding needs assessment for response and recovery.