Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Insuring nature against extreme storms starts with a coral reef in Mexico

A school of fish and a sea can in a healthy coral reef off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico on Sept. 26, 2018. (Donald Miralle/Getty Images for Lumix)
A school of fish and a sea can in a healthy coral reef off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico on Sept. 26, 2018. (Donald Miralle/Getty Images for Lumix)

Climate change is forcing the insurance industry to adapt and come up with new products. One experiment is testing out a policy to insure nature against extreme storms, specifically a coral reef in Mexico.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong learns more about the reef with Michael Beck, research professor at University of California Santa Cruz and former lead marine scientist at The Nature Conservancy. Tong also talks about the broader concept of “parametric insurance” and how it benefits people after natural disasters with Carolyn Kousky executive director of the Wharton Risk Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Find the original broadcast audio here.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.