California’s Commissioner of Insurance convened a Working Group to explore the role innovative insurance solutions may be able to play in helping communities and families manage the risk of climate change. One of the Working Group’s recommendations is to promote parametric insurance. While traditional insurance indemnifies the policyholder for actual loss, parametric insurance pays out a pre-set amount if a disaster such as a flood, wildfire or heat wave exceeds specified parameters. There is just one hitch: Parametric insurance is not insurance. After the 2008 financial crisis, Congress enacted Dodd-Frank to, among other things, sweep parametric and other event contracts under the jurisdiction of the Commodities Futures Exchange Commission (CFTC). The Working Group is right to highlight the potential for parametric solutions to become an effective risk management tool, but it must invite the CFTC to join in the discussion if it hopes to move its recommendations toward reality.