Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 11, 2017 (SKNIS): The recovery efforts in St. Kitts and Nevis following the passage of Hurricane Irma will receive much needed financial support from a payout by the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility segregated portfolio company (CCRIF SPC).
Information from the CCRIF SPC states that the company “will be making payouts totaling approximately US$ 15.6 million (EC$ 42 million) to the Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla and St. Kitts and Nevis as a result of the passage of Hurricane Irma, which triggered payments on these countries’ Tropical Cyclone policies.”
Preliminary calculations show that St. Kitts and Nevis is set to receive around US$ 2,294,603 (EC$ 6,195,428) with the bulk of the remainder of the sum split between Anguilla and Antigua and Barbuda with US$ 6,529,100 (EC$ 17,628,570) and US$ 6,794,875 (EC$ 18,346,163) respectively. CCRIF SPC will verify the payout calculations and is currently “in discussion with the three governments about making arrangements for transfer of these payouts, which will be completed within 14 days after the event – as mandated by CCRIF’s operational guidelines.”
The CCRIF Board will meet shortly to determine additional support that it can offer countries affected. St. Kitts and Nevis is one of sixteen countries that are currently members of the facility.
Although the federation was spared the worst of the storm’s fury, preliminary findings show that several homes sustained severe damage and a number of downed electricity poles resulted in power outages. Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said an assessment is being conducted on the coastal zones to evaluate the extent of any damage and that the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA’s) Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis Committee had been deployed. Cabinet awaits the results of those findings.
The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility was formed in 2007 as the first multi-country risk pool in the world. It was designed as a regional catastrophe fund for Caribbean governments to limit the financial impact of devastating hurricanes and earthquakes by quickly providing financial liquidity when a policy is triggered. In 2014, the facility was restructured into a segregated portfolio company to facilitate expansion into new products and geographic areas.