Bermuda Donates $500,000 to Caribbean Cat Risk Insurance Facility

A bulletin from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) notes that as of the beginning of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane season, all sixteen original member governments “have signaled their continued support by renewing their 2008 policies.”

In addition the CCRIF announced that Bermuda has made a $500,000 donation to the facility’s reserves. In announcing the donation, Premier Ewart Brown stated: “The government of Bermuda’s commitment to proactive disaster mitigation is mirrored in the CCRIF concept. We are therefore very pleased to make this donation, not only because it strengthens the fund of which we are a member, but also because it supports a strategy all Caribbean governments can embrace – disaster risk must be managed long before the disaster.”

Warren Smith, Director, Finance & Corporate Planning, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and a member of the CCRIF Board, agreed that the donation would allow Caribbean governments to continue to put measures in place that would help to protect Caribbean states from earthquake or hurricane disaster.

“As a joint reserve fund, the CCRIF allows Caribbean governments to purchase unique coverage not available in the commercial markets at rates only achievable through the pooled approach,” he explained. “With this donation the Bermuda government provided the kind of endorsement we need to strengthen our efforts.”

At the same time as the policies were renewed the CCRIF said it had successfully “incepted reinsurance to a value of US$135 million, tapping both the international reinsurance and capital markets to cover the hurricane and earthquake policies renewed by the CCRIF’s original governments.” A number of member governments have also increased their coverage for 2008

Source Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility – http://ccrif.org