Typhoon-prone Philippines plans cover on infrastructure losses

Manila received a $52.5 million payout, or 35% of the principal, from a World Bank-issued catastrophe bond after Typhoon Rai hit in December 2021. - AFP

MANILA (Bloomberg): The Philippines is readying an insurance plan that will protect the South-East Asian nation from infrastructure losses caused by natural disasters, seeking to better respond to climate change risks.

The government will put in place a national indemnity insurance programme to provide financial protection for strategically important assets like school buildings, hospitals, roads and bridges, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in a mobile-phone response to Bloomberg queries. The programme will "ensure immediate funding for the rehabilitation and repair of these critical assets,” he said.