In the Spotlight | Risks Reduced, Resilience Raised: Saoirse Jones on Insurance with Purpose

For Saoirse Jones, the insurance industry offers more than financial tools—it offers a way to protect lives, communities, and entire societies. That sense of purpose is what has guided her career and continues to drive her work today. As Global Head of Public Sector Solutions at Zurich Resilience Solutions and Co-Chair of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF)’s Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Task Force, Saoirse brings over two decades of experience to bridging the gap between risk expertise and real-world resilience. In this interview, she reflects on her professional journey, the role of insurance in DRR, and how public-private collaboration can build stronger, more climate disaster-resilient systems.

Please tell us a little about your professional background, and share your professional journey so far.

I currently work as Global Head of Public Sector Solutions at Zurich Resilience Solutions. My focus is on providing actionable insights that help public sector clients manage and reduce risk, prevent losses, and build resilience. I also lead Zurich’s engagement with IDF and co-chair its DRR Task Force. Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked across investment management, organizational transformation, and strategy. At Zurich, I previously served as Transformation Manager, where I led major change initiatives, and as Regional Chief Investment Officer, where I developed and implemented investment strategies across multiple countries, integrating responsible investment principles. I’ve always been driven by the power of collaboration—bringing people together across functions to co-create solutions and move toward a shared purpose.

How can insurance act as a tool to incentivize disaster risk reduction (DRR)? Could you share a few examples?

Insurance plays a vital role in enabling DRR both directly and indirectly. It shapes behaviors through underwriting, pricing, and risk advisory, while also supporting longer-term investments in resilience. For example, while not a direct 1:1 relationship, insurers can consider risk-reducing measures clients have implemented when calculating premiums—this is seen in Ghana, where Unique Insurance Company offers discounts to clients with risk reduction measures such as fire safety systems and alarms.

Insurance can also act as a gatekeeper by requiring risk assessments and DRR measures as prerequisites for coverage or financing. For instance, public infrastructure projects may need to demonstrate climate risk assessments and implemented risk reduction plans before securing insurance. Beyond that, insurers can invest directly in resilient infrastructure. The IDF is developing a Resilience Investment Facility to support such long-term infrastructure investments in emerging and developing markets.

A more applied case is our work with Maersk: Zurich Resilience Solutions assessed climate vulnerabilities at several ports and provided tailored recommendations not just for the port infrastructure but also for surrounding logistics networks—showing the broader value of DRR expertise for resilience building. Finally, risk pricing and market signals can prompt public action. After insurers pulled out of flood-prone areas in Queensland, Australia, the government built levees, and insurers returned—showing how risk models can influence policy and public investments in DRR.

From Zurich’s perspective, how can public and private sector organizations best collaborate to advance DRR?

Advancing DRR requires alignment across governments, insurers, regulators, and development actors. From Zurich’s perspective, we see three core areas:

1. Investing in prevention and enforcing resilient standards. Governments should formally adopt robust strategies and frameworks that increase investment in risk prevention and reduction measures, levering insurance expertise and insights. Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 is a great example—it uses data and investment to strengthen flood defenses and climate adaptation.

2. Expanding access to insurance through supportive policy frameworks. When governments and insurers share data and expertise, building and zoning planning and recovery efforts can improve dramatically. For instance, using insurer insights to rebuild damaged structures to higher standards post-disaster makes them more resilient and insurable going forward.

3. Developing collaborative risk-sharing mechanisms to ensure long-term protection. Governments can enable private investment by de-risking complex projects, while insurers contribute risk reduction expertise and transfer solutions. Such blended finance models can mobilize capital toward long-term resilience.
 

Zurich recently published a paper titled Building Climate Resilience, which outlines concrete actions for governments and how insurers can support.

As Co-Chair of the IDF’s DRR Task Force, what are your current priorities?

Our core focus is on embedding DRR thinking into insurance industry practices and within IDF-led initiatives. Our work focuses on three key areas. First, awareness and communication—we need to emphasize the link between insurance and disaster risk management, highlighting DRR’s role in connecting insurability and investability. It’s also about showcasing how insurers are already integrating risk reduction into their work with clients and sovereigns. Second, standards and measurement—we’re developing a practical guide to help incorporate DRR into industry practices and IDF projects, along with a framework to measure its impact in a systematic way. Third, synergies and integration—we’re collaborating with other IDF working groups to embed DRR into broader programs. One exciting idea in development is a Risk Engineering & Advisory Pool, which would allow us to provide DRR expertise across IDF-supported initiatives and scale our impact more effectively.
 
With the IDF Summit 2025 approaching, what are you most looking forward to?

I’m particularly excited about three themes:

Societal resilience. Hearing from public sector leaders like Hon. Nogui Acosta Jaén (Minister of Finance, Costa Rica) on how sovereigns are thinking about the role of insurance in building societal resilience, including risk reduction and closing protection gaps.

Insurability and financial stability. Deepening discussion on the connection between insurance and financial and economic stability, specifically how insurance expertise can help unlock capital flows and foster resilient investing.

Role of insurance in climate and development finance. There’s growing momentum around integrating insurance into development finance, and sessions led by Pepukaye Bardouille from the Bridgetown Initiative will dive into this in more detail.

Building trust among insurers, governments, and development partners is crucial. What lessons have you learned about fostering effective collaborations?

Trust is indeed key – and tends to develop over time and through working together towards a common objective. Clear communication about objectives, incentives, and ways of working helps build mutual understanding and a strong foundation for partnership. Transparent governance and agreed principles of engagement are crucial to sustaining momentum and accountability. Ultimately, effective and resilient solutions come from combining our expertise—and it’s through working together that lasting trust is built.

What advice would you give to someone exploring the intersection of finance and climate resilience?

What has kept me in this field is its core purpose—protecting people and societies. For anyone interested, I recommend immersing yourself across the insurance value chain—understand risk modeling, claims, investments, and how these parts contribute to resilience. If you’re already in the sector, look outward: engage with public policy, learn about community vulnerabilities, and think about how your expertise can make a difference. Bridging these worlds—and being more vocal about the value of holistic risk management—is where real impact happens.