St. Maarten has become the 20th country to join the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) SPC, purchasing coverage for tropical cyclones, earthquakes and excess rainfall.
The island nation joined the Facility on September 1 as a late entrant this policy year, which began on June 1, following the British Virgin Islands and Montserrat, which both joined CCRIF in June.
CCRIF provides parametric insurance coverage for its member governments, which it claims is generally less expensive than an equivalent traditional indemnity insurance product as it does not require a loss assessment procedure following a disaster, when liquidity is often required urgently.
St. Maarten was one of 13 Caribbean countries to be severely impacted by Hurricane Irma in September 2017, with government estimates putting the country’s economic losses at around US $1.8 billion.
CCRIF made payouts totalling $55 million to nine member governments following Tropical Cyclones Irma and Maria in 2017, and has made a total of 36 payouts worth $130.5 million to 13 member governments since its inception in 2007, all within 14 days of the event.
Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CCRIF, said: “We are pleased to welcome St. Maarten as a new member to CCRIF and look forward to working with the Government of St. Maarten to strengthen its disaster risk management framework in the face of increasing climate-related risks.”
