CCRIF talks to expand hurricane coverage

CCRIF talks to expand hurricane coverage

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis yesterday met with officials from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CRIFF) to discuss expanding coverage in The Bahamas to include aspects  of housing, public utilities and the fisheries sector.

The meeting at the Office at the Prime Minister also covered ways that developed nations can assist vulnerable small island developing states by contributing to the fund to help with recovery and reconstruction.

The Bahamas will receive approximately U.S. $11 million dollars from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF). The fund has stated it will pay The Bahamas US $10,936,103 following the passage of Hurricane Dorian.

The Category 5 storm caused widespread destruction on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama.

The Bahamas has three tropical cyclone policies with CCRIF, each one covering a section or zone of the archipelago – north west, south east and central. The tropical cyclone policy for the north west zone – which includes the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama – was triggered.

In 2018, the Bahamian government renegotiated the country’s catastrophic risk insurance, agreeing to a new policy which divided The Bahamas into three distinct zones and structured payouts based on that arrangement.

Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA) vice-president Keith Carroll previously told Eyewitness News Online that fishermen typically have no private insurance as they cannot qualify for coverage.