CCRIF Estimates $12.8 Million in Caribbean Losses from Tomas

Whether Tomas passed through the eastern Caribbean as a hurricane or a tropical storm is rather irrelevant, as, whatever it was, it caused a lot of damage. The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) has already issued a detailed report, estimating “government losses” in Barbados, Saint Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines will total around $12.8 million

The report noted that “Barbados endured the biggest actual loss (as it is a significantly bigger economy than the other two) as well as the biggest loss relative to GDP (just over 1.5 percent), the latter due largely to the fact that near-hurricane force winds affected the entire island and due also to high coastal exposure. Both Saint Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines endured modeled losses of around half of one percent of GDP.

“Preliminary reports from all three islands suggest that the impacts are commensurate with these levels of losses. All areas of Barbados have been significantly impacted, whereas severe impacts have been limited to the southern parts of Saint Lucia and the northern parts of St Vincent.

CCRIF coverage was triggered in all three islands in which losses were recorded in its model. “Preliminary calculations show payouts of $8.5 million for Barbados, $3.2 million for Saint Lucia and $1.1 million for St Vincent & the Grenadines.”

The bulletin explained that “these payouts reflect the application of policy conditions to the modeled government loss. Each member of CCRIF selects their own policy attachment point (equivalent to a deductible), exhaustion point (equivalent to the full policy value) and the level of premium they wish to pay. These three conditions then dictate what the payout will be relative to the loss.

“Under the terms of CCRIF policies, a final loss and payout calculation will be undertaken on 13 November, with the National Hurricane Centre data available at that time used as input to the loss model. Payouts will be made as soon thereafter as possible.”

The CCRIF also warned that Tomas “remains an active storm and could impact further CCRIF-covered countries. Should that occur, a second event report will be issued.”

Source: Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility