A Caribbean-wide insurance scheme backed by Bermuda is to pay a record $20 million-plus to hurricane-devastated Haiti.

The payment from the CCRIF, formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, represents more than a third of the total handed out since the scheme was set up nine years ago.

Isaac Anthony, chief executive officer of the CCRIF, said: “The CCRIF board and team extend our condolences to Haiti on the loss of life and extend our support to the government and people of Haiti as they recover from this disaster.”

He added: “We know that the government welcomes this payment and is looking forward to beginning their recovery efforts.”

Hurricane Matthew, a Category 4 storm, slammed into Haiti on Tuesday, killing at least 108 people and wreaking havoc across the country.

The main bridge linking the capital Port au Prince and southern Haiti has collapsed and coastal areas were badly hit, with more than 12 million people, including more than half a million children, affected.

It is the worst natural disaster to hit Haiti since a 2010 earthquake that left more than 200,000 dead and tens of thousands living in tents and other temporary accommodation.

CCRIF paid out $7.7 million to the poverty-stricken country under its earthquake insurance policy.

The scheme is also to pay Barbados, which was hit by the then-tropical storm Matthew a few days earlier, a total of $975,000.

The storm triggered Barbados’ tropical cyclone policy. Both Barbados and Haiti also have excess rainfall policies, which may be triggered as well.

Claims from other countries in the eastern Caribbean under their rainfall policies may also be made.

Bermuda is one of 16 members of the CCRIF, a not-for-profit insurer which offers cover for hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes.

CCRIF was developed by the World Bank with a grant from the government of Japan.

Capitalisation came from a multi-donor trust fund set up by the Bermuda Government in alliance with the UK, Canadian, Irish and French governments, the World Bank, the European Union and the Caribbean Development Bank, as well as membership fees from participating countries.

Since 2007, the CCRIF has paid a total of 15 claims amounting to $38.8 million, excluding the new Haiti estimates, to ten member countries.

The fund made payouts in the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Gonzalo two years ago, which also hit Bermuda, but the island’s policy did not reach the required trigger level for compensation.