On September 21st and 22nd, the SOTERIA kick-off meeting (KoM) took place in Bilbao, Spain. The project started on September 1st and will last for two and a half years.

SOTERIA (SOlutions TEsting for Regions through Insurance for Climate Adaptation) brings together leading European think tanks and SMEs specialized in climate change.

Furthermore, it actively involves partnerss pecialized in agriculture data, risk  indicators, behavioral sciences, data communication experts, insurance legal aspects, and market experts, as well as research institutions specializing in climate change adaptation incentives and data sharing. Additionally, it includes technological industries with expertise in advanced insurance solutions and software startups.

Together, they will contribute their knowledge in climate resilience policies to advance innovative insurance solutions for climate change adaptation.

During the KoM, SOTERIA Beneficiaries and Associated Partners presented and discussed the upcoming work required for the successful implementation of the project. To kick off the meeting, the Project Advisor outlined the EU’s vision for the new program, and the DG CLIMA Policy Officers presented insights from the EU Climate Resilience Dialogue and the Horizon Europe Mission Climate Adaptation.

“We aim to help reduce the protection gap in different European regions by documenting best practices and testing insurance products and services that reward proactive prevention measures, all while seeking to increase coverage through codesigned solutions in SOTERIA Pilot Regions,” said María José Sanz, BC3 Scientific Director, Ikerbasque Professor, and SOTERIA’s Principal Investigator.

The project, coordinated by BC3, is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 101112867, with a total budget of €2,998,353.75.