Livestock insurance as a mechanism for household resilience of livestock herders to climate change: Evidence from Iran

Insurance is acclaimed as a promising mechanism for resilience to climate extremes. However, in practice, few empirical studies have been done on the influence of livestock insurance on the household resilience of livestock herders to climate change. We advanced knowledge in this area by: a) estimating household resilience to climate change and identifying the typology of livestock herders in terms of resilience; b) assessing the influence of livestock insurance on the household resilience of livestock herders. Population of this survey research were all livestock herder households from 11 rural areas in Kermanshah County in the west of Iran. A proportional stratified random sampling technique was used for selecting 250 livestock herder households. Livestock herders were interviewed individually through a questionnaire. Cluster analysis indicated that the sample households were heterogeneous in terms of resilience and can be divided into three categories of low, medium and high resilient households. These households were also different in terms of average livestock insurance. Hierarchical regression analysis confirmed that number of insured livestock and perception of the livestock insurance services are the significant determinants of household resilience of livestock herders to climate change. Even though, income, livestock ownership and climate change perception were also other predictors of household resilience of livestock herders. Findings of this study will be helpful for policymakers, managers and insurance companies to pursue cost-effective insurance policies for building adaptation and resilience capacity to climate disasters among livestock herders.