September 9, 2008- GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN,The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility is set to make a payout of approximately US$6.3 million to the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, within the terms of that country's hurricane policy which was purchased at the start of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane season. The funds will boost recovery efforts following the passage of Hurricane Ike, which hit the southern islands of the chain as a Category 4 storm early Sunday morning with major impact in Grand Turk, the seat of government.
The storm carried sustained winds of over 130 mph, which caused damage to an estimated 85% of homes in Grand Turk and severely impacted Salt Cay and South Caicos also. Throughout the rest of the chain, hurricane-force winds and heavy rains caused flooding and infrastructure damage. Ike came just a week after Tropical Storm Hanna drenched the Turks & Caicos with heavy rain.
"The payout to the Turks and Caicos Islands was calculated from the parametric formulae and represents our estimate of the losses to the government induced by Ike's severe winds. Most of those losses will be in Grand Turk, with Providenciales missing the worst of this storm," explained Simon Young, CEO of Caribbean Risk Managers Ltd (CaribRM), Supervisors of the CCRIF. "I was able to speak to a senior official in the Ministry of Finance, who described the high level of devastation from Ike. The people of the Turks and Caicos have our support and we hope that this payout will assist the country in making a swift recovery."
As required under CCRIF's claims settlement rules, a final calculation of the payout amount will be made 14 days after the storm, and the full amount of the payment will be made immediately thereafter to the Turks & Caicos government. CaribRM has today dispatched an experienced risk assessor to evaluate the damage in the Turks & Caicos Islands as CCRIF continues to assist CARICOM governments in understanding and managing their catastrophe risk and seeks to improve the coverage it offers.
About the CCRIF: The CCRIF is the first multi-country risk pool in the world, and is also the first insurance instrument to successfully develop a parametric policy backed by both traditional and capital markets. It is a regional insurance fund for Caribbean governments designed to limit the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes and earthquakes by quickly providing financial liquidity when a policy is triggered.
Last year, the CCRIF paid out US$1 million to Dominica and St. Lucia in the aftermath of the November 2007 earthquake that shook the Eastern Caribbean.
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