Cases / Insurance, liability and compensation funds · United States · 2022–2026
TNC Hawaii coral reef parametric insurance
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 5 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 3 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps
In 2022 The Nature Conservancy bought a wind-triggered insurance policy for Hawaii's coral reefs, paid for by donor grants. It was triggered for the first time in August 2026.
USD 200,000First payout trigger, Hurricane Lala, August 2026 (reported minimum payout)
Reported minimum; the final amount was unconfirmed in the sources reviewed.
Reported minimum; the final amount was unconfirmed in the sources reviewed.
Status As of October 2026: the policy was triggered for the first time by Hurricane Lala in August 2026, with a reported minimum payout of $200,000; the final amount is not confirmed.
What?
A parametric (trigger-based) insurance policy for Hawaii's coral reefs, held by TNC and insured by a Munich Re Group company. The Nature Conservancy
Where?
Hawaii, United States. The Nature Conservancy
When?
Announced 20-21 November 2022; renewed in 2024 and 2025; first triggered in August 2026. The Nature Conservancy
Who?
Gained
- TNC (policyholder) — Reported minimum payout of $200,000 after Hurricane Lala Reinsurance News
- Munich Re Group (insurer) and WTW (broker) — Premiums of $110k (2022-23) and $106k (2024); broker and insurer fees not stated Civil Beat
Lost
- Donors: the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the Howden Group Foundation — Paid the premiums The Nature Conservancy
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
To provide pre-arranged, trigger-based financing for coral reefs in the United States. The Nature Conservancy
How?
Wind speed of 50 knots triggers payment, with a $200k minimum, $1m per storm and $2m per year. Civil Beat
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced a coral reef insurance policy for Hawaii on 20-21 November 2022. TNC was the policyholder and Munich Re the insurer; Willis Towers Watson (WTW) was the broker. The limit was up to US$2m, the premium US$110,000, the trigger winds of 50 knots, and the term ran to the end of 2023. The premium was funded by grants from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the Howden Group Foundation.
In 2024 TNC renewed the policy. According to Insurance Journal, TNC selected an insurance company of the Munich Re Group from seven bids, with WTW as broker. Civil Beat reported a 2024 premium of $106k, paid by donors and the Howden Foundation, and that more ocean area was covered. TNC said on 15 April 2025 that it had renewed the policy for 2025 with Munich Re Group.
The policy's terms were a 50-knot trigger, a minimum payout of $200k, $1m per storm and $2m per year. Hurricane Lala triggered it for the first time in August 2026, with winds of 65 knots. The reported minimum payout was $200,000; the final amount was not confirmed in the sources reviewed.
The policy is wind-triggered. Swiss Re's July 2026 presentation to the Asian Development Bank described existing Hawaii, Quintana Roo and MAR Fund policies as wind-triggered only; no document reviewed states an explicit bleaching exclusion. NOAA stated on 2 June 2026 that from early 2023 to mid-2025 bleaching-level heat stress affected 84% of the world's coral reef area; that figure is heat-stress exposure, not the share of reefs that bleached or died.
- 2022Policy announced 20-21 November: TNC policyholder, Munich Re insurer, WTW broker; limit up to US$2m, premium US$110,000, 50-knot trigger
- 2024Policy renewed; TNC selects a Munich Re Group insurer from seven bids; premium $106k
- 2025TNC renews for 2025 with Munich Re Group (15 April)
- 2026Hurricane Lala triggers the policy for the first time in August; reported minimum payout $200,000
What was said
Claims, in the words of those who made them.
“Working with WTW, TNC selected an insurance company of Munich Re to provide this parametric coverage.”
“Helping to design the first pre-arranged, trigger-based financing policy for coral reefs in the U.S. was very rewarding.”
“selected an insurance company of the Munich Re Group from seven bids”
“TNC developed the new policy with WTW.”
“TNC renewed Hawai'i's coral reef insurance policy for 2025 with Munich Re Group.”
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- The first coral reef insurance policy in the United States.TNC newsroom · The Nature Conservancy
- Parametric insurance "just paid out for a coral reef for the first time in the US" (headline).Insurance Business · Insurance Business
Recorded
- Policy terms: trigger at 50 knots of wind; minimum payout $200k; $1m per storm; $2m per year.
- Premiums documented: $110k for 2022-23 (no payout) and $106k for 2024, in total $216k for 2022-24; 2025 and 2026 premiums were not disclosed.
- The premium was paid by donors: the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the Howden Group Foundation in 2022; donors and the Howden Foundation in 2024.
- Hurricane Lala (August 2026, 65 knots) triggered the policy; the payout was reported as a minimum of $200,000.
- Existing Hawaii, Quintana Roo and MAR Fund policies are wind-triggered only; no document reviewed states an explicit bleaching exclusion.
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
No figure published.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: 2022-2024. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
Responses on record
- tnc (20 November 2022): Working with WTW, TNC selected an insurance company of Munich Re to provide this parametric coverage. · The Nature Conservancy
- tnc (15 April 2025): TNC renewed Hawai'i's coral reef insurance policy for 2025 with Munich Re Group. · The Nature Conservancy
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
- 2026Paid$0.2m Reported minimum payout (USD 200,000), final amount unconfirmedMunich Re Group → The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Parametric policy with a 50-knot wind trigger, a $200k minimum payout, $1m per storm and $2m per year. Hurricane Lala (August 2026, 65 knots) triggered it for the first time; the payout was reported as a minimum of $200,000. Reinsurance News
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Trigger
Wind of 50 knots
Hurricane Lala, August 2026, 65 knots
Reported payout
USD 200,000 minimum
Final amount not confirmed in the sources reviewed
Use of payout on the reef
Not on record
The sources reviewed do not say how the payout was spent
Bleaching-level heat stress, early 2023 to mid-2025
84% of reef area worldwide
NOAA, 2 June 2026; heat-stress exposure, not share bleached or dead
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Figures
- Insufficient Premium: Reported total over four years in a trade report; not independently verified. Only $216k is documented (2022-24).
Record
- Not disclosed The 2025 and 2026 premiums were not disclosed.
- None on record The final amount of the Hurricane Lala payout is not confirmed; the reported minimum is $200,000.
- None on record How the payout was or will be spent on the reefs: the sources reviewed do not say.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a total premium of about $432k over four years (Insurance Business, 21 August 2026, as summarised); only $216k is documented, for 2022-24.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a TNC headline about Hurricane Lowell appeared in search results only.
- None on record No document reviewed states an explicit exclusion of coral bleaching, though the policies are wind-triggered only.
- None on record Full policy wording was not found in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable in the record: the policy pays after a wind event and does not itself prevent harm to the reef.
Who paid?
Donors paid the documented premiums (the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the Howden Group Foundation and other donors); the insurer, a Munich Re Group company, was to pay on a trigger and reportedly did so in August 2026.
Sources
Voices on record: ✓ Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers
Company or project
Government and regulators
- The world's fourth mass coral bleaching event likely ended in 2025NOAA · 2026-06-02
Press and investigations
- Insurance Journal, 22 November 2022 (Hawaii coral reef policy)Insurance Journal · 2022-11-22
- Insurance Journal, Hawaii reef policy 2024Insurance Journal · 2024-02-16
- More ocean area will be covered under Hawaii's new coral reef insurance policyCivil Beat · 2024-02
- Hurricane Lala triggers The Nature Conservancy's US coral reef insurance policy for first timeReinsurance News · 2026-08
- Parametric insurance just paid out for a coral reef for the first time in the USInsurance Business · 2026-08-21
Communities and civil society
- First-ever US coral reef insurance policyThe Nature Conservancy · 2022-11-20
- TNC renews Hawai'i coral reef insurance for 2025The Nature Conservancy · 2025-04-15
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