HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii’s reefs have a financial lifeline to survive this brutal hurricane season.
Just like home insurance, reef insurance provides financial protection for unexpected loss and damage to something of value — in this case, nature.
The difference is the payout isn’t based on an adjuster’s assessment, but on the nature of the storm.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) says its reef insurance policy paid out $200,000 after Hurricane Lala and $300,000 after Lowell, calculated from the storm’s wind speed above 50 knots and its proximity to the islands.
Related post: Hawaii’s coral reefs are covered by insurance. Hurricane Lala triggered a payout
“We essentially agree upon certain parameters ahead of time that would trigger a certain level of a payout,” said Julia Rose, Coral Restoration Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy.
The policy is funded entirely through private, philanthropic donations, not taxpayer dollars. A storm could trigger a payout of up to $1 million, with a season cap of $2 million.
The combined half-a-million payout is already back in the water, funneled through a coalition called the Hawaii Emergency Reef Restoration Network.
Teams say the guaranteed money lets them focus on rapid damage assessments and restoration work, instead of scrambling and waiting for funding. And time is of the essence.
A week and a half after Lala, crews had surveyed 30 miles of Hawaii Island coastline.
“Most of the corals get overturned into a pile of rubble and they won’t make it unless we intervene within about four to eight weeks,” Rose said.
Rose says broken corals are still alive and can grow a new colony.
“We have a window of time where we can actually be reattaching and re-stabilizing a lot of these corals that were lost. And the idea is that can catalyze recovery of a reef area,” she explained.
Crews recently reattached more than 200 corals in one day along Hawaii Island, minimizing disruption to the reef ecosystem, even after a disaster.
“The amount of time and money and effort that it would take to grow 200 mature coral colonies from scratch is unthinkable,” Rose said.
TNC says reefs reduce up to 97% of wave energy and protect against floods and erosion, so repairs help strengthen the islands’ first line of defense during storms.
Coral reefs also inject more than $1.2 billion annually in local tourism and support the $13 million fishing industry.
All are important reasons for reviewing and negotiating the insurance policy each year.
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