Jamaica to review disaster insurance fund with CCRIF

Published:Wednesday | September 27, 2017 | 9:22 PM

  •  Shaw made the announcement while responding to questions in Parliament yesterday.  This after the island was unable to get a drawdown from the Fund because the country’s insurance policy did not cover damage associated with excess flooding.  In April and again in May, heavy rains caused flooding, landslides and breakaways across several parishes.
  • The damage was estimated at more than $4 billion.
  • Finance Minister Audley Shaw
  • Meanwhile, the finance minister disclosed that the allocations in the budget for natural disasters have already been depleted due to damage sustained from heavy rains that lashed the island earlier this year.
  • More than a year ago Jamaica upgraded its CCRIF policy after the country sustained massive flooding following the passage of tropical storm Erika in 2015.
  • Citing the damage sustained by several Eastern Caribbean countries in the aftermath of two powerful hurricanes in the space of a week, Shaw said there is a need for Jamaica to enhance its insurance coverage.
  • Finance Minister Audley Shaw says the government will be reviewing the insurance policy with the Caribbean Catastrophe Insurance Fund (CCRIF) given the severity and frequency of natural disasters affecting the region.