EBRD Calls for Subsidized Insurance to Quickly Rebuild Ukraine

Subsidized insurance would attract investors to help rebuild Ukraine’s war-battered economy, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

“Reconstruction could start very quickly,” EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik told Bloomberg Television on Friday. “I was in Berlin a week ago and German companies are very interested, they stand ready to invest provided some kind of insurance will be provided.”

Speaking from the European House-Ambrosetti meeting in Cernobbio, Italy, Javorcik said this form of insurance could come from governments or international bodies. “Conversations are going on on how to start such a system,” she added.

More than two years into the invasion, Russia’s assault on Ukraine has created a mounting death toll as well as destroyed housing and energy infrastructure. It may cost more than $1 trillion in private and public money to rebuild the country, the European Investment Bank estimates.

Poland and Ukraine’s other neighbors are well positioned to act as logistical hubs when reconstruction gets off the ground, according to Javorcik. Companies from Europe “as well as from the US would be very interested in investing in Ukraine once the situation allows that,” she said.