The British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Montserrat have joined the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) and purchased coverage for the 2018/19 policy year, which began 1 June.
The new members take CCRIF’s total number of members to 19 countries, 18 Carribean and 1 Central American.
Both countries purchase tropical cyclone and excess rainfall policies, while the BVI has also purchased earthquake coverage.
Governments and populations in the region have been impacted by extreme geophysical and climate events throughout the past decade, including the Hurricanes Matthew, Irma and Maria over the past two years, and have been encouraged by CCRIF’s rapid response and payouts.
Since the facility’s inception in 2007, it has paid out a total of $130.5 million to 13 member governments.
One of CCRIF’s core principles is to ensure all 36 payouts have been made within 14 days of the end of the event and in some cases, the facility has made payouts within seven days upon request by the recipient governments.
The CCRIF remains financially solvent after the payouts, with its long-term sustainability intact.
All existing member policies were renewed for the 2018/19 policy year, and many countries are increasing their level of coverage, recognising that climate change is likely to exacerbate the impacts of hydrometeorological events.
CCRIF CEO, Isaac Anthony, commented: “The addition of these two countries to the risk pool is consistent with our current strategic direction, which is geared towards scaling up the facility by adding new members, increasing products we offer and also encouraging members to increase coverage levels.”
