CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) launched its 10th anniversary celebrations at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) on Monday under the theme “celebrating 10 years of innovation in catastrophe insurance… in the Caribbean and Central America”.
This launch is the beginning of a year of activities that will focus on CCRIF and its milestones over the past 10 years and more importantly enable stakeholders to strategically engage with CCRIF to chart its strategic direction to 2030 to better serve Caribbean and Central American countries and to play its part in advancing Agenda 2030 – the global goals for sustainable development – and effectively contribute to the global vision of leaving “no one behind” in development.
Persons at the launch included Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Allen Chastanet; Senator Darcy Boyce, Minister in the Barbados Office of the Prime Minister; Fayval Williams, Minister of State in Jamaica’s Ministry of Finance and the Public Service; Mr. Joseph Cox, CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General for Trade and Economic Integration; Ms. Ana Campos, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank; Dr. Warren Smith, President of the Caribbean Development Bank; Ms. Elizabeth Riley, Deputy Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency; and Mr. Milo Pearson and Mr. Isaac Anthony, CCRIF Chairman and CEO, respectively.
On behalf of CARICOM, Cox saluted CCRIF as the world’s first regional parametric risk insurance pool, and another CARICOM best practice that is being shared with the world. He noted that CCRIF is evidence that small countries, together with their development partners – multilateral financial institutions and bilateral partners – can work together to address their vulnerabilities and build resilience.
CCRIF was formed in 2007 when CARICOM requested assistance from the World Bank to design and implement a cost-effective risk transfer programme for member governments, following the devastation caused in the region by Hurricane Ivan in 2014, and was the result of technical and financial support from the World Bank, CDB, the European Union and the governments of Japan, Canada, UK, France, Ireland and Bermuda.
Fayval Williams reflected on Jamaica’s involvement with CCRIF, noting that this involvement began even before CCRIF was formed. CCRIF’s project design, whilst led by the World Bank, was also conducted in collaboration with Jamaica through the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) as well as the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat. The design of CCRIF was particularly challenging, as CCRIF was the first multi-country, multi-peril pooled catastrophe risk insurance facility in the world.
The importance of CCRIF as a policy vehicle was highlighted by CDB President Dr. Warren Smith, who stated that, in his opinion, “CCRIF’s most significant role in its initial years was to enable finance, disaster and meteorology professionals to work together and to align the disaster risk management and fiscal policy frameworks of their countries.”
Since its inception, CCRIF has made 22 payouts to 10 member governments totalling US$69 million, including its highest payout to Haiti after Hurricane Matthew last year. All payments were made within 14 days of the event.
CCRIF Chairman Mr. Milo Pearson noted that “we have witnessed first-hand how payouts have resulted in reduced burdens on state finances and many of the payouts were used almost immediately to assist with post-disaster clean-up, assistance to communities, clearing roads and rehabilitating important infrastructure.” Countries have used payouts also for longer-term initiatives such as capitalizing special recovery funds and improving weather systems to better enhance early warning mechanisms.
Prime Minister Chastanet, in the keynote address titled “Importance of Parametric Insurance and the CCRIF Model to Economic Growth and Fiscal Sustainability”, remarked that CCRIF “is critical, given that Caribbean countries now have to deal with the increasing occurrence of natural disasters in addition to grappling with tight budgets.”
Prime Minister Chastanet cited CCRIF’s quick payouts as a critical benefit for its members – payouts which are made within 14 days after an event. He noted that often, assistance from donor organizations is provided only after many months and may be in the form of loans, thus increasing countries’ debt burden. He appreciated that, with CCRIF, governments are informed very soon after the event if they will receive a payout and the expected value of the payout and that these funds can be made available at the time when it is most needed – right after a disaster – allowing governments to have immediate liquidity to assist persons most in need, repair critical infrastructure and bring important social services back into operation in the quickest possible time.
CCRIF CEO, St Lucian Mr. Isaac Anthony stressed that “our many successes were accomplished only because we worked in close partnership with member governments as well as a variety of national, regional and international organizations and other key stakeholders” and reiterated that CCRIF looks forward to working with all its stakeholders in the Caribbean and Central America in this 10th anniversary year to chart the way forward to 2030.