After getting hit with Hurricane Irma in 2017, Antigua and Barbuda is still recovering. It’s one of many countries that will need hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare for stronger storms and other climate impacts.
Sustainable Markets Initiative unveils proposed new insurance vehicle to protect against extreme climate events across the Commonwealth at CHOGM 2026
The SMI feasibility study brought together leading insurers, reinsurers, brokers, modelling specialists and capital providers to explore risk transfer solutions to close the protection gap between insured and economic loss. It was presented at an SMI joint sponsored forum to 42 Heads of Government in Antigua and Barbuda.
Successfully completed supply side study marks significant step towards creation of “Commonwealth Mutual”, a new mutual reinsurance vehicle and finds that mutualizing risk across the Commonwealth makes protection at a cost far below and at a scale far greater than any member could achieve alone.
This proposal addresses an increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events across the globe, which have increased eightfold over the past 30 years, and led to record levels of insured and uninsured losses.
Announced as global business leaders and heads of government gather at the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2026 in Antigua and Barbuda
The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2020 when he was Prince of Wales, has successfully completed a new feasibility study for a new mutual reinsurance vehicle “Commonwealth Mutual”, providing risk transfer at scale against escalating extreme weather risk.
Announced at CHOGM 2026, the findings demonstrate how shared risk solutions can build resilience across the Commonwealth, and the SMI is now working with key Commonwealth countries to progress the project to a fully costed business proposal, providing significant levels of protection following extreme natural weather risks such as hurricanes, cyclones, floods, droughts, excess rainfall and earthquakes.
As losses from natural catastrophes and extreme climate events continue to rise globally, the feasibility study mobilized leading insurers, reinsurers, brokers, modelling specialists and capital providers to explore risk-transfer solutions to help close the protection gap between insured and economic loss. Mutualizing risk across the Commonwealth creates a diversification factor that enables protection at a cost far below what any individual member could achieve alone and provides coverage limits at a scale unachievable on a standalone basis by most members.
The move follows the increasing frequency of climate-driven events, which is widening the protection gap – especially in vulnerable Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and African nations. According to the World Meteorological Organization, extreme weather events have risen five-fold over the past 50 years, while analysis by the MSCI Institute estimates the global impact of climate-related losses could reach $1.3 trillion for listed companies in the next year alone.
The completion of the study confirms the supply-side feasibility, achievability and advantages of creating a new Commonwealth reinsurance vehicle, which would operate as a sovereign-owned structure and is intended to be complementary and additive to existing proven risk pools, such as the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, the African Risk Capacity and the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company, which it is hoped will also further expand to help address these issues.
The SMI proposed “Commonwealth Mutual” mutual reinsurance vehicle would deliver four critical functions:
Risk sharing: diversify risk across Commonwealth states, to reduce volatility
Rapid liquidity: enable fast payout, to minimize immediate financial shock and economic damage
Efficient global reinsurance access: increase purchasing power for a large, competitively priced reinsurance programme
Optimize aid budgets: pre-fund disaster financing through private sector insurance capacity to reduce dependence on post-disaster emergency loans
Commonwealth Mutual would create new public-private collaborations, boosting resilience planning and uncovering new climate adaptation opportunities through reducing reliance on post-disaster aid and embedding disaster risk financing as predictable annual costs for Commonwealth nations.
Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO of Sustainable Markets Initiative said: “Commonwealth Mutual demonstrates a rare opportunity to turn shared climate risk into collective strength, so we can deliver faster, more reliable resilience for Commonwealth nations, reduce reliance on aid and unlock scalable, sustainable growth for the global insurance industry. With the feasibility study now complete, we’re looking forward to engaging with global leaders to turn this vision into reality.”
Neil Eckert, Chief Executive Officer at Conduit Re said, “The SMI feasibility study has demonstrated not only that Commonwealth Mutual is achievable, but that the private sector — including brokers, insurers, regulators and capacity providers — is ready and willing to play its part in moving towards closing the protection gap across the Commonwealth. As an industry, we have the capability to help protect sovereign balance sheets, businesses, livelihoods and lives by providing fast, reliable payments following extreme natural disasters. The diversification and scale of The Commonwealth family of nations enables the provision of significant limits at pricing that would be unachievable by any nation on its own and we hope that Commonwealth member governments will engage to help take the project to its next stage as we make progress towards the aim of providing the coverage needed.”
–ENDS—
Media contacts
Jilly Hurley, Chief Communications Officer Email: j.hurley@sustainable-markets.org
SMI Communications Partner Email: sodali@sustainable-markets.org
Notes to editors
About the Sustainable Markets Initiative
The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) is the world’s leading private sector organisation driving the sustainable transition, bringing together CEOs, world leaders and innovators to accelerate practical action. Founded by His Majesty King Charles III, the SMI is defined by its unique approach to ‘private sector diplomacy’, convening leaders across business, government and finance to position sustainability at the heart of global value creation.
Together, the SMI and its partners seek to mobilize the trillions of dollars needed to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future. Achieving this requires systems-level change across markets, industries and global supply chains. The SMI’s two mandates—the Terra Carta and Astra Carta—provide practical frameworks for business to drive that transformation through collaboration, innovation and investment.
The SMI believes that with bold ambition and courageous leadership, the sustainable transition can become the greatest economic opportunity of our generation. We call this ‘The Growth Story of Our Time.’ Read more: www.sustainable-markets.org
Source: Antigua News Room Proposed Commonwealth insurance fund could lower disaster costs for Antigua and Barbuda.