Global law firm Clyde & Co today flagged parametric insurance as a key risk management tool that could help protect the Great Barrier Reef from long-term climate change effects.

An insurance pool similar to the arrangement the Government put in place after the September 11 2001 terror attacks should also be considered, the law firm says.

It says the reef is in such a dire state that insurance should not be ruled out.

“Like other economic assets, it should be insured against certain catastrophic events to guarantee its long-term resilience," Partner Jacinta Studdert said.

In a report issued today, Clyde & Co says parametric insurance can “provide greater certainty of coverage, and payments for weather-related risks can be made more quickly”.

The reef has an asset value of about $56 billion and contributed $6.4 billion to the economy in 2015/16.