The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) SPC is preparing to make a payout of about half a million United States dollars to Anguilla, which had been heavily affected by Hurricane Gonzalo.
Reports from the National Emergency Operations Centre said that there was flooding at the Clayton J Lloyd International Airport, the Public Library and in other areas in three of the 14 districts after the Category One hurricane passed over the island on October 13, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Anguilla is accessing the money under its excess rainfall insurance policy, a report from CCRIF SPC said. Anguilla is one of eight CCRIF member countries that purchased excess rainfall coverage in June at the commencement of the 2014/15 policy year. The island also has a CCRIF tropical cyclone (TC) – i.e. hurricane – policy, which is based on modelled losses due to wind and storm surge, as part of its disaster risk management strategy. These modelled losses were below Anguilla’s policy attachment point (deductible) and therefore the TC policy was not triggered. The excess rainfall policy complements the TC policy, allowing Anguilla to be covered for two perils that often occur at the same time during tropical cyclones.
Developed by CCRIF, Swiss Re and Kinetic Analysis Corporation (KAC) the excess rainfall product is aimed primarily at extreme high rainfall events of short duration (a few hours to a few days) whether they happen during a hurricane or outside of one. Like CCRIF’s tropical cyclone and earthquake insurance, the excess rainfall product is parametric, which means that a payout can be made quickly (within 14 days) after a rain event that triggers a country’s policy, without waiting for time-consuming damage and loss assessments on the ground. The CCRIF launched this product in 2013.
The report said this is the second payment the government of Anguilla will receive from CCRIF. In 2010, CCRIF made a payout of US$4,282,733 to Anguilla under its TC policy, following the passage of Hurricane Earl, which passed close to that island in August.
CCRIF is working with regional partners, particularly the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) and local disaster management officials in Anguilla, to collect on-the-ground information on the impacts of Hurricane Gonzalo.
