Supported by the UK’s Centre for Disaster Protection (CDP) in 2024 and the World Bank (GFDRR) in 2025, PCRIC has co-hosted two seminal workshops addressing climate and disaster risk financing in the Pacific. Directed at regional disaster risk management practitioners, these workshops have drawn in both regional and global expertise to showcase options and transfer knowledge and know-how essential for building local capacity and guiding governments along the pathway to affordable, sustainable and effective strategies for addressing the financial cost of disaster impact. The following article gives insight to the workshop held recently in Fiji, pointing to the future of DRFinitiatives in the Pacific Islands region and the role insurance has as an effective disaster risk financing tool. Regardless of the climate debate, it is an undeniable fact of life in our region that disasters—cyclones, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions—are happening with no decline in frequency, and many have been more intense than ever. The past decade has given us some of the most devastating events in Pacific history, and has demonstrated that most nations are still not fully equipped to handle them well. To change this, there must be better data, stronger coordination, an influx of financial resources, and long-term strategic planning. To reduce the negative financial impact on local economies, Pacific nations must strengthen their disaster response capacity before the next major crisis strikes. The lack of accurate and up-to-date exposure and vulnerability data is one of the biggest challenges facing provision of cost-optimised disaster risk financing across the region. Without robust data, the correct pricing of risk becomes difficult, and premiums tend to be higher as a result. Regional cooperation to improve data collection and share outputs was promoted as a strategic means of reducing uncertainty and thereby helping to lower costs and improve access to more affordable DRF solutions. Though levels of preparedness vary between nations, progress is evident in regional disaster risk finance planning. Some nations have made significant strides, while others still face political, technical, and financial hurdles. The presentation by Tuvalu on the status of its DRF planning made an out-sized impact, effectively demonstrating that size and wealth did not determine a country’s ability to act. The nation’s clear, well-developed risk financing plan forcefully highlighted that regardless of scale, every island nation of the region can develop a viable disaster risk financing strategy with the right level of focused commitment and support. Institutionalisation of strategic DRF planning is a must if governments are to sustain momentum and secure the progress already made. Establishing long-term policy frameworks, the creation of dedicated DRF working groups, and structured funding allocations that prevail beyond leadership changes were all promoted as mechanisms governments can adopt to securely anchor DRF planning and implementation capabilities within overarching national disaster risk management strategies. A powerful realisation registered with workshop participants when informed that for the 2024/25 season, PCRIC clients had secured a collective total of US$52.75 million in pre-arranged post-disaster financial relief. With premium costs substantially offset through PCRIC by financial support from donors, and payouts received within as little as 14 days of a trigger event occurring, pre-arranged solutions were shown to be available, accessible, and affordable now. No longer an abstract concept, but a tangible solution offering real, immediate financial support when needed most. The cost of DRF initiatives was a keenly considered issue as delegates emphasised the struggle many Pacific nations face in addressing the competing demands placed on already stretched financial resources. Critical questions were raised as to who should bear the burden of ensuring truly vulnerable island nations had reasonable access to available DRF tools. How much could realistically be covered by governments, and how much could or should be supported through donors, specialised regional funds, or international finance institutions? The absence of clear-cut answers reinforced the complexity of the matter, and accentuated the pressing need for development of sustainable mechanisms to ensure nations of the region did not forever remain under-protected and perpetually reliant on reactive, ad hoc post-disaster aid. Approaching DRF support as an investment rather than an expense was posed as a necessary mindset change to deliver more proactive post-disaster assistance. donor investment in tools and mechanisms which facilitate effective pre-planning and remove uncertainty in moments of crisis stood out as the smarter way. Tuvalu’s experience was again referenced, having received substantial external support in establishment of a national climate change and disaster survival fund. highlighting what was possible through a proactive approach, it was only days after the workshop that Tuvalu coincidentally received a second tranche of funding from the world bank, specifically targeting the nation’s financial management of and resilience to climate-related disasters. Strategies to mitigate the financial impact of disasters are no longer just a ‘nice-to-have’ option for governments. This applies also to many state owned enterprises upon which communities and economies depend for essential services. Commercial insurers have left significant market gaps which must be filled, and the financial impact of stalled social and economic development is quickly becoming too great to defer any longer. This is where entities like PCRIC now play a pivotal role in the larger matrix of DRF solutions. Ongoing progress in the DRF space is assured if the level of collaboration between governments, donors, and service providers exhibited throughout the 5-day workshop is continued. The workshop acted to demonstrate and mobilise the collective ambition of delegates to be part of tangible DRF solutions which are workable in the context of the Pacific Islands. In relation to climate change and disaster resilience, it is often said that time is running out for the most vulnerable of nations. It being well understood that the region’s island nations simply do not have the resources to go it alone, perhaps time is also running out for the global family of wealthier nations to collectively water the green shoots of hope made evident through this timely and well-executed regional DRF workshop.