Protecting Small Businesses of Urban Area: A Stakeholder Round Table

The findings brought to light by thedemand survey on disaster microinsurance in Guwahati city of Assam, India were worth sharing with relevant stakeholders.The survey revealed that as risk is increasing over time with increasing frequency and extremes of weather relatedevents due to climate change, the ability of urban small business to face these challenges is missing. This wasconfirmed during the demand survey when small business owners explained their struggles without any support from thepublic or private sector. Disaster Micro Insurance is a pressing need for these small businesses, but no such productcurrently exists.

A roundtable conference was organized by the project team with the objectives of movingtowards a well-designed micro disaster insurance product and to discuss the findings of the survey. The roundtableshared the key findings of the survey conducted with the small businesses and the needs that emerged after the analysis.These findings will feed into the preparation of the product for small businesses.

[captionid=attachment_4337" align="alignnone" width="600"]

Staying together for a cause- the participants of roundtable on “LinkingDisaster Risk Reduction with Risk Transfer: Protecting Small Businesses in Urban Areas” at Guwahati, India. Activediscussion between State and District Disaster Management Authorities; Insurance Companies, Humanitarian Agencies andSmall Businesses.[/caption]

It was indeed an achievement for the project to have the State DisasterManagement Authority attend the consultation with ownership and initiative. The one-day roundtable took place in theconference hall of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA, Government of Assam) with 38 participants fromacross various sectors including government officials from the state and district level disaster management authorities,public and private sector insurance companies, humanitarian agencies and representatives from smallbusinesses.

The event was inaugurated by Mr. Ashim Kumar Chetia ACS, Deputy Chief Executive Officer,ASDMA. In his inaugural speech he emphasized urban risks and said “The biggest challenge in DRR (Disaster RiskReduction) for us has been the lack of coordination and contribution from all stakeholders. There is a need to worktowards bridging this gap. The issues and challenges must be resolved with initiative and commitment from allstakeholders”. Mrs. Hazarika in her discussion on urban risk reduction highlighted efforts and initiatives of ASDMA andsaid “the overlap between disaster risk and climate risk cannot be ignored. The frequency of climatic events and rapidand uncontrolled urban development needs to be addressed by all stakeholders together. It is high time for climatecompatible development”. Dr. Himansih Deb, Regional Manager, United India Insurance Company stressed upon the need forenhancing the knowledge and understanding among small businesses about the concept and importance of insurance productsfor the benefit of lower income groups. Mrs. Rupali Rabha, a small businesswoman from Bhangagarh, Guwahatisaid,"seasonal storms result in severe devastation in the market where we do business, almost everyone who suffer damageeither uses his/her savings or resort by using informal credit”.

[caption id="attachment_4338"align="alignnone" width="600"] During the inauguration, Deputy CEO, ASDMA and SPO,ASDMA launched the latest issue of southasiadisasters.net on ‘Disaster Microinsurance: An Innovation forTransformation’.[/caption]

This consultation has revealed the existing plight of the small informalbusinesses in the context of disasters from varied perspectives and has laid the foundation for the evolution ofinnovative tools that will have the potential to address the multiple dimensions of risks suffered by these smallbusinesses. The round table discussions helped the project build understanding. After the roundtable, the insurancecompanies that were present are now more sensitive towards this target group. The round table discussion provided anopportunity to raise awareness and arrive at an agreeable solution for reducing risk through disaster insurance for theurban small businessmen in Guwahati.