Humanity Insured CEO: Insurance has a big role to play in solving humanitarian crises

Today’s humanitarian crises can be solved to a large degree by closing the protection gap, charity CEO Charlie Langdale says in the latest Voice of Insurance episode.

Charlie Langdale is no stranger to the insurance market. Having spent nearly 25 years at Howden, he recently stepped away from a successful broking career to lead Humanity Insured, a new charity with a radical mission: to use the tools of insurance to fight poverty in the world’s most vulnerable communities.

“The moment that changed everything was COP26,” said Langdale. “Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados, made a powerful appeal for the private sector to step up and address risk. We realised she was talking about us – the insurance market.”

Humanity Insured subsidises insurance premiums for people in low-income countries, enabling them to access coverage they otherwise couldn’t afford. Langdale sees this as a vital intervention. “It’s not just a nice idea. It’s bizarre not to use insurance in these settings. We wait for disaster to strike, raise money after the fact, and help pick up the pieces. But insurance allows us to act in advance. That’s where the real impact lies.”

The charity has already backed several innovative schemes, including a human-wildlife conflict project in Zambia. “We bought a parametric drought product for under $40,000,” he explained. “It unlocks a compensation fund for 100,000 farmers bordering a national park. In return, they agree not to shoot elephants that trample their crops. It’s experimental, yes, but it’s working – we’re reducing poaching while protecting livelihoods.”

Another project in India targets urban women workers at risk from extreme heat. “These women came to us with an idea: pool $1 each into a fund that pays out if temperatures rise above 42.5°C. We added $7 for every dollar they put in and built a proper insurance product. Last year we reached 26,000 women. This year it’ll be 250,000.”

For Langdale, the power of insurance lies not in payouts, but in the confidence and autonomy it brings. “When someone buys crop insurance, even with a subsidy, they’re taking control. They might decide to sow all their seed or send their children to school, knowing they have protection. Insurance enables people to plan and invest – it changes their behaviour before a loss ever happens.”

Though Humanity Insured is a charity, it is designed to work within commercial market frameworks. “We want insurers to make a profit,” said Langdale. “That’s how we create scale and sustainability. But we also want them to compete properly, and we only support projects with strong resilience-building components.”

Langdale believes the model can shift the economics of humanitarian aid. “We’ve seen in places like Pakistan that $1 spent on insurance beforehand can be worth $9 in aid afterwards – and often, that aid is late or never comes. Insurance is faster, more efficient, and more empowering.”

Even in its first five months, Humanity Insured has already processed its first claims and is attracting funding from non-insurance corporates with exposure in vulnerable regions.

Langdale is clear about the charity’s ambitions.

“Success for us is being made redundant. If, in five years’ time, we’re no longer needed because these communities are fully integrated into commercial insurance markets, that’s real impact,” he added.