PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The Association of Trinidad and Tobago Insurance Companies (ATTIC) Wednesday said that while “insured” losses within the Caribbean for the 2017 hurricane season are in excess of US$50 billion so far, initial regional feedback suggest a high per cent of policyholders’ property and valuable assets in islands devastated by hurricanes were “underinsured”.
Several Caribbean countries, notably Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla, were severly damaged when Hurricanes Irma and Maria made their way through the Lesser Antilles last month — as were Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, US Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Guadeloupe, The Bahamas, and St Martin.
In a statement, ATTIC said 2017 hurricane season has so far been the third most active on record, with more than eight weeks still to go before the official end of the season on November 30.
“Thus far, this season has produced more tropical cyclones than any other season except for 1933 and 2004, according to the National Hurricane Center. Four tropical cyclones formed in September, all of which became hurricanes, with three growing into major hurricanes. That doesn’t even include hurricanes Irma and Harvey, which formed in August,” ATTIC said.
It said that projected “insured” losses within the Caribbean for the season thus far are estimated on the lower range to be in excess of US$50 billion.
“Losses of that magnitude are expected to “wipe out” more than 15 to 20 years of profits of reinsurers and insurers who do business within affected islands. There is also an expectation that for some regional insurers the losses will result in a capital event.”
ATTIC said that reinsurers who do business within the Caribbean have been issuing advisories to the regional insurance industry to plan for much higher rates during the upcoming renewal of their reinsurance programmes.
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