This paper is an initial attempt to consider the role in adaptation of insurance and related risk sharing and risk transfer methods, in the context of a comprehensive approach to risk reduction and risk management. It is the result of informal conversations at Poznan between members of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR) and the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII). It offers a preliminary analysis, produced in the short time required to provide a timely input to the June 2009 negotiations in Bonn. It is neither conclusive nor comprehensive, but aims to provide a useful contribution to the ongoing conversation on the role of insurance in adaptation and reducing disaster risk.