Willis and Global Parametrics deliver payouts to coffee farmers hit by storms

These payouts follow a separate parametric drought policy arranged by Willis in 2024 to support Vietnamese coffee growers. The new high-rainfall policy expands the scope of parametric protection available to farmers, building on the earlier programme’s success.

In late 2025, Willis placed the high-rainfall parametric solution with Bao Minh Insurance Corporation to protect coffee farmers against yield losses caused by excessive rainfall during the critical harvest period.

The policy uses NASA satellite data to monitor rainfall levels across three areas of Gia Lai province – West Ia Grai, East Ia Grai, and North Chu Prong. If rainfall exceeds predefined thresholds, payouts are triggered automatically, allowing farmers to receive compensation quickly without lengthy claims procedures or on-site loss assessments.

Willis’ parametric solution responded exactly when needed. The 2025/26 policy coincided with Typhoon Kalmaegi, which caused some of the worst flooding of modern times in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Rainfall exceeded 1.7m in some parts of the central highlands, with Gia Lai being one of the areas badly affected. This decimated livelihoods, with some coffee farms completely submerged.

Nathan Pereira, analyst of Alternative Risk Transfer Solutions at Willis, said, “This programme delivers tailored and timely financial protection to vulnerable coffee farmers, while strengthening trust in insurance and improving understanding of how effective risk solutions can support their livelihoods.”

Risk capacity to support the payouts was provided by the Natural Disaster Fund (NDF), a public-private partnership managed by Global Parametrics, a subsidiary of CelsiusPro Group, specialising in parametric protection against climate and natural disaster risks. The NDF is funded by the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Germany’s development bank KfW.

The high-rainfall programme formed part of an initiative supported by the InsuResilience Solutions Fund , delivered in partnership with Willis, ECOM Agroindustrial Corporation, Bao Minh Insurance Corporation, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture in Vietnam, and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia.

Nguyen Thi Mai, sustainability project assistant at ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd, said the payout highlighted the value of innovative agricultural risk solutions, showing how such initiatives can provide tangible support to farmers facing extreme weather conditions. She said the collaboration reflected a broader effort to help farmers manage climate risks while supporting a more resilient and sustainable supply chain.

The benefits are already being felt at farm level. Truong Hong Thanh, a coffee farmer in Gia Lai province, purchased weather insurance after attending a training session in September 2025. After receiving compensation for weather-related damage that helped restore his garden, he said he now plans to continue using the insurance and encourage relatives and fellow farmers to participate as well.

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