Bermuda will receive no payouts from its CCRIF tropical cyclone policy, a CCRIF spokesman said yesterday.

While Bermuda is a member of the CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) and has a CCRIF tropical cyclone policy based on modelled losses from wind and storm surge, the policy did not trigger.

Bermuda does not have an excess rainfall policy — which did trigger in the case of Anguilla.

In the Caribbean, the tropical weather system caused damage in multiple islands and killed one elderly man in the Dutch territory of St Maarten.

A CCRIF report stated: “Tropical Cyclone (TC) Gonzalo affected four CCRIF member countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda and St Kitts and Nevis. Of these countries, only Anguilla and St Kitts and Nevis have Excess Rainfall (XSR) policies.”

Commenting after the release of the report, the spokesman added: “While Bermuda does have a CCRIF tropical cyclone policy (which is triggered based on modelled losses from wind and storm surge), the policy did not trigger after the passage of TC Gonzalo.

“Bermuda does not have an excess rainfall policy.”

Yesterday, CCRIF SPC reported they are preparing to make a payout of about $500,000 to the Government of Anguilla under its excess rainfall insurance policy as a result of heavy rains that affected the country during Hurricane Gonzalo. “Gonzalo passed directly over Anguilla as a category one hurricane on 13 October 2014, leaving behind flood-damaged buildings and communities in its wake. Reports from the National Emergency Operations Centre indicated that there was flooding at the Clayton J Lloyd International Airport and the Public Library and other areas in three of the 14 districts.”

CCRIF 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 report described the excess rainfall policy. “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. This product was launched by CCRIF in 2013.”

This payout is the second payment the Government of Anguilla will receive from CCRIF, stated the report, adding: “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 the island that August.”

Useful website: www.ccrif.org