The Caribbean
The Caribbean Title
CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility)
The Caribbean Description
CCRIF SPC, formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, is a segregated portfolio company, owned, operated and registered in the Caribbean. It limits the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes and excess rainfall events to Caribbean and – since 2015 – Central American governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered. It is the world’s first regional fund utilizing parametric insurance, giving member governments the unique opportunity to purchase disaster risk insurance with lowest possible pricing.
CCRIF was developed under the technical leadership of the World Bank and with a grant from the Government of Japan. It was capitalized through contributions to a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) by the Government of Canada, the European Union, the World Bank, the governments of the UK and France, the Caribbean Development Bank and the governments of Ireland and Bermuda, as well as through membership fees paid by participating governments.
In 2014, another MDTF was established by the World Bank to support the development of CCRIF SPC’s new products for current and potential members, and facilitate the entry for Central American countries and additional Caribbean countries. The MDTF currently channels funds from various donors, including: Canada, through Global Affairs Canada; the United States, through the Department of the Treasury; the European Union, through the European Commission; Germany, through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and KfW; and Ireland. In 2017, the Caribbean Development Bank, with resources provided by Mexico, approved a grant to CCRIF SPC to provide enhanced insurance coverage to the Bank’s Borrowing Member Countries.
Nineteen Caribbean governments are currently members of the facility: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sint Maarten, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos Islands. Two Central American governments are currently members of the facility: Nicaragua and Panama.
The Caribbean News and Events
News and Events
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, September 6, 2019. CCRIF will pay The Bahamas approximately eleven million United States dollars (US$10,936,103) following the passage of Hurricane Dorian that caused widespread devastation in the northern part of the 700-island archipelago. The Bahamas has 3 tropical cyclone policies with CCRIF, each one covering a section or zone of the archipelago – North West, South East and Central. It is the tropical cyclone policy for the North West Zone – which includes the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama – that was triggered. Dorian made landfall on 1 September and battered the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, in the north of the archipelago, for two days.
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, August 29, 2019. CCRIF has launched a web-based platform through which its members can monitor earthquakes as well as the development of potentially damaging heavy rainfall and tropical cyclones, analyze their intensity and assess their impact, as well as check whether an active insurance policy with CCRIF is likely to be triggered.
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, July 3, 2019. CCRIF SPC and the World Bank are pleased to announce that on July 1, the Facility issued the Caribbean Oceans and Aquaculture Sustainability FaciliTy (COAST) fisheries parametric insurance policy to two of its member governments – Grenada and Saint Lucia. The COAST insurance policies provide coverage for fisherfolk and other players in the fisheries industry to enable them to recover quickly after weather-related events. Initial funding for COAST has been provided by the U.S. State Department.
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, April 10, 2019. The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and CCRIF SPC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop climate-resilient fisheries and aquaculture industries in the region. The purpose of the MOU is to formalize collaboration around the Caribbean Oceans and Aquaculture Sustainability Facility (COAST) initiative, which will help to reduce the risk that climate change poses to food security and nutrition and to mitigate climate change impacts on sustainable food production as it relates to the fisheries sector.
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, January 7, 2019. CCRIF SPC is pleased to announce that the Government of Panama has joined the Facility and has purchased parametric insurance cover for excess rainfall. Panama joined the Facility as a late entrant this policy year which began on June 1, 2018. CCRIF’s membership now stands at 21 countries – 19 Caribbean governments and 2 Central American governments. CCRIF welcomed four new countries to the Facility this policy year - British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, St. Maarten and now Panama, with Panama being the Facility’s second member from Central America.
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, October 31, 2018. CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) announced today that for the second year in a row, Trinidad & Tobago received a payout on its Excess Rainfall policy following a period of heavy rainfall in October. The Government received a payout of US$2,534,550 (approximately TT$17 million) due to heavy rains between October 18 and 20 2018
Bridgetown, Barbados, October 22, 2018. On Friday October 19th, Barbados Prime Minister Honourable Mia Amor Mottley met with CCRIF CEO Mr. Isaac Anthony, Deputy Chairperson Mrs. Desirée Cherebin and Board member Mrs. Faye Hardy at a short ceremony to mark the payout by CCRIF to the Government of Barbados following the passage of Tropical Storm Kirk in October. The payout of US$5.8 million – or BDS$11.6 million – was made under the country’s Excess Rainfall policy and was made within 14 days of the event.
www.ccrif.org