Hitesh Joshi,CMD, GIC Re
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, called for the creation of a BRICS reinsurance company with initial capital of $10 billion
Hitesh Joshi,CMD, GIC Re, said, “With India holding the BRICS Presidency in 2026, GIC Re chaired meetings of the Task Force on Reinsurance Cooperation during the year. GIC Re has further strived towards strengthening cooperation in reinsurance space during this year. We are hopeful that this co-operation will assist all BRICS countries.”
New Delhi/Mumabi:Even as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, called for the creation of a BRICS reinsurance company with initial capital of $10 billion, BRICS New Delhi Declaration backed continued discussions on enhancing Group’s reinsurance capacities and welcomed exploration of a BRICS Insurance Resilience Centre (BIRC) as a voluntary shared platform for developing common risk models, exchanging best practices and building specialist capabilities.
The declaration also noted interest among members in taking forward India’s proposal to establish a BRICS Risk Lab at GIFT City’s International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat, with participation open to interested BRICS members.
“We recognise the need for harnessing the collective potential of BRICS to build a more self-reliant BRICS insurance ecosystem to support trade among members, and further discussion on enhancing reinsurance capacities. In this regard, members expressed interest in taking forward the discussions on India’s proposal to host a BRICS Risk Lab, open to participation by interested members, at the GIFT City International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat,” said the BRICS New Declaration,
Pezeshkian, addressing the BRICS meeting in New Delhi last week, called for the creation of a BRICS reinsurance company with initial capital of $10 billion to reinsure major infrastructure and energy projects and help mobilise private-sector investment.
The proposal, if pursued, could potentially create a new source of capacity for large infrastructure and energy risks across BRICS markets, although its structure, capitalisation and relationship with existing national and international reinsurers would require detailed discussions, said industry experts.
Hitesh Joshi,CMD, GIC Re, said, “With India holding the BRICS Presidency in 2026, GIC Re chaired meetings of the Task Force on Reinsurance Cooperation during the year. GIC Re has further strived towards strengthening cooperation in reinsurance space during this year. We are hopeful that this co-operation will assist all BRICS countries.”
The proposal assumes added significance as BRICS economies confront rising catastrophe, infrastructure, energy and supply-chain risks, while insurance and reinsurance capacity remains uneven across emerging markets.
The New Delhi Declaration also placed climate and disaster resilience high on the BRICS agenda. Members recognised the growing complexity of disaster risks, particularly those linked to climate change in the Global South, and reaffirmed cooperation on disaster-risk reduction, early-warning systems and risk-informed planning.
BRICS welcomed guidelines for disaster-management early-warning data integration and voluntary principles for climate-resilient urban infrastructure. It also highlighted the need for predictable and accessible financing, including public and private investment, for resilient infrastructure.
The declaration stressed that strengthening infrastructure resilience to climate and disaster risks is critical to sustainable development, with greater emphasis on prevention, anticipatory action and evidence-based risk planning.
“We underscore that strengthening the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks is vital for achieving sustainable development. In this regard, we acknowledge the role of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as an international partnership for supporting member and partner countries in integrating resilience across infrastructure systems through technical assistance, knowledge exchange, enabling policy and financing approaches, ” highlighted New Delhi declaration
For the insurance industry, the emerging BRICS agenda could create opportunities for common catastrophe-risk modelling, cross-border reinsurance capacity, climate-risk financing and specialist risk pools, while positioning GIFT City as a potential hub for the bloc’s insurance-risk cooperation, said analysts.
The BRICS bloc consists of 11 full member countries and 10 partner countries, with a combined nominal GDP of approximately $32.7 trillion and a purchasing power parity (PPP) share of around 40 per cent of global GDP.