Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, June 25, 2012 – The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) is pleased to announce the retention of Sagicor Insurance Managers Ltd. (Sagicor) as insurance manager for the Facility for the next three years, commencing June 1, 2012. CCRIF was launched in June 2007 as a regional insurance fund with sixteen Caribbean countries as members and policy holders. It is the world’s first and, to date, only regional fund utilising parametric insurance, giving Caribbean governments the unique opportunity to purchase earthquake and hurricane catastrophe coverage with lowest-possible pricing. Since inception, CCRIF has paid out just over $32 million in claims, and in the recent 2011/12 year wrote $20 million in annual premiums and total coverage of over $600 million.
The insurance manager provides the corporate secretariat, accounting functions, board management and other related ‘back-office’ tasks. Also, the insurance manager provides the necessary regulatory interface with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), required because CCRIF is registered in the Cayman Islands.
Following a re-tender process with strong competition from leading international captive insurance management firms and after a rigorous review process, the CCRIF board re-awarded the contract to Sagicor, CCRIF’s insurance manager since inception. This re-tendering process was in accordance with CCRIF’s internal procedures and based on World Bank guidelines for the selection of consultants. In keeping with maintaining the cost-efficiency and full transparency of the Facility, the positions for the various service providers associated with CCRIF are re-tendered at regular intervals.
Mr. Milo Pearson, CCRIF Executive Chairman commented: “All bid proposals received were of a very high quality. However, Sagicor’s commitment to CCRIF during the past five years and its recognition of the uniqueness of CCRIF when compared to other captives, were key factors in the board’s decision when re-awarding the contract to Sagicor.”
Sagicor Vice President Mr. James Rawcliffe added: “It is an honour for Sagicor to have been re-awarded the insurance management contract for CCRIF because of the Facility’s importance in providing natural disaster risk management to countries within the Caribbean region – as recognised by institutions such as the Caribbean Development Bank, CARICOM and the World Bank. Sagicor, with its existing experience of managing several captives owned in the Caribbean, has an intuitive understanding of what is required to make the management of CCRIF a success.”
Sagicor is one member of the CCRIF team which provides services to the Facility. Other members of the team are: Caribbean Risk Managers Ltd – Facility Supervisor; London & Capital Ltd and EFG Bank, Cayman Branch – Asset Managers; Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC – Reinsurance Broker and Sustainability Managers – Corporate Communications Manager.
About CCRIF: CCRIF is a not-for-profit risk pooling facility, owned, operated and registered in the Caribbean for Caribbean governments. It is designed to limit the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes and earthquakes to Caribbean governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a policy is triggered. It is the world’s first and, to date, only regional fund utilising parametric insurance, giving Caribbean governments the unique opportunity to purchase earthquake and hurricane catastrophe coverage with lowest-possible pricing. CCRIF represents a paradigm shift in the way governments treat risk, with Caribbean governments leading the way in pre-disaster planning. CCRIF was developed through funding from the Japanese Government, and was capitalised through contributions to a multi-donor Trust Fund 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.
For more information, please send an email to pr@ccrif.org.