Grenada to receive US $44m CCRIF payout after impacts of Beryl

Grenada is set to receive a payout of approximately US $44 million from the CCRIF SPC (formerly known as the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) after hurricane Beryl battered the Caribbean country, triggering its parametric tropical cyclone, fisheries, and excess rainfall policies.

According to reports, hurricane Beryl totally devastated some 90% of all buildings on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, which are two of the sister islands that comprise the State of Grenada.

Additionally, the storm led to significant damage to the region’s agricultural sector and the natural environment, while transmission and distribution systems on both islands were badly damaged.

After the impacts, the Government of Grenada is set to receive its first payout from the CCRIF of a little over US $44 million across three parametric policies.

Under its tropical cyclone policy, which covers wind and storm surge, Grenada will receive a payout of roughly US $42.4 million, and, under its fisheries policy, which covers wind, storm surge, rainfall and high waves, the country will receive a payout of approximately US $1.1 million. Additionally, Grenada will benefit from a payout of slightly over US $0.5 million under its excess rainfall CCRIF policy.

The payout to Grenada on its tropical cyclone policy is actually the single largest payout by the CCRIF, beating the just under US $40 million payout Haiti received after the 2021 earthquake.

“These payouts represent Grenada’s first payouts from CCRIF. I commend the Government of Grenada, which has always maintained that despite not receiving a payout, it understood the importance of financially protecting the economy in case a disaster strikes, as it would never want to see a repeat of Hurricane Ivan,” said CCRIF CEO, Isaac Anthony.

This confirmation of a payout to Grenada comes after Jamaica’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Nigel Clarke, revealed that Beryl triggered its parametric tropical cyclone insurance policy, leading to a CCRIF payout of approximately US $16.3 million.

According to the CCRIF, the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will receive US $1.8 million, and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will benefit from US $372,752 for the impacts of Beryl on Tobago.

“Countries ought to treat parametric insurance for natural hazards like they treat health insurance. We buy health insurance because it is important to help safeguard our lives. However, we hope we do not need it but when we do, we have the peace of mind that it could help us deal with a more serious illness than a common cold. Similarly, we do not want to be negatively impacted by natural hazards and be faced with natural disasters. However, in the case of CCRIF’s parametric insurance, the moment we really need it, it is available within 14 days of a triggering event. CCRIF’s parametric insurance must be seen as a key component in helping countries to build back better and stronger to withstand future natural hazards, especially within the context of climate change,” added Anthony.

CCRIF states that it expects to make 10 payouts under hurricane Beryl amounting to more than US $75 million, which would take total payouts made by the entity since its inception in 2017 to approximately US $350 million, highlighting the benefits of its parametric insurance offering.