The sixteen member governments of the Caribbean Catastrophe risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) have renewed their hurricane and earthquake insurance for the 2013/14 policy year, despite increasing economic and financial pressures.
CCRIF is a not-for-profit risk pooling facility designed to limit the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes and earthquakes to Carribean governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a policy is triggered.
The CCRIF explained in a recent release that the popularity in renewals might be due to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) predicting an active 2013 hurricane season with “more and stronger hurricanes than usual”.
For the six-month hurricane season that began on 1 June the NOAA stated that there was a 70 percent likelihood of 13 to 20 named storms, a figure well above the seasonal average of 12.
In light of the budgetary restraints felt by countries across the region, the CCRIF sought again to minimise premium costs. For the 2013/14 policies, CCRIF provided a 25 percent discount on premiums because no payouts were made in 2012/13, resulting in an underwriting surplus for the organisation.
The CCRIF has also added a new excess rainfall product to its offerings. The product specifically covers extreme rainfall events, from both cyclonic and non-cyclonic systems.
Rainfall is not included in CCRIF’s current hurricane policies that trigger based on damage from wind and storm surge.
