Reflecting on Hurricane Melissa’s impacts on Jamaica, Hon.Andre Ebanks, MP, Premier & Minister for Financial Services and Commerce, of the Cayman Islands, said that the British Overseas Territory should also look to financial instruments such as catastrophe bonds for future protection.that the World Bank had confirmed that following the events of Hurricane Melissa, the Government of Jamaica will receive a full 100% payout of its $150 million IBRD CAR Jamaica 2024 parametric catastrophe bond.

According to our market sources, Jamaica is expected to receive the full payout by December 1st.Speaking in the Cayman Parliament last week, reflecting on Melissa’s impacts on Jamaica, Ebanks said, “While government action is essential, what truly defines us as a country is how our people respond when disasters strike, whether we’re the ones taking the hits or whether someone else is receiving the blow.Even in the midst of devastation, there are lessons to be learned and innovations to be acknowledged.

“Case in point, Jamaica’s forward thinking approach to disaster risk management deserves special recognition.Through a World Bank facilitated catastrophe bond that was announced in April last year, Jamaica secured US150 million in parametric insurance coverage, a financial instrument specifically designed to deliver rapid, transparent relief after disaster strikes.” Ebanks continued: “I commend Jamaica’s Prime Minister, the Honourable Andrew Holness and his government and Jamaica’s former Minister of Finance, the Honourable Dr Nigel Clark, who led these innovations during his time in office, for their foresight in building these layers of financial resiliency.” The Minister outlined that the  parametric cat bond is the kind of preparation that will ultimately help enable Jamaica to rebuild and come back stronger than before.Ebanks also reminded the Parliament that Hurricane Melissa could have easily tracked to the west and caused severe damage upon the Cayman Islands.

“The devastation we witnessed in Jamaica could have easily been our own.This near miss must serve as a clarion call for our own preparedness,” Ebanks said.“Like Jamaica, the Cayman Islands must develop and maintain layers of risk protection, comprehensive insurance mechanisms, emergency response systems and innovative financial tools like catastrophe bonds.

We cannot afford complacency, so heaven forbid, if a disaster day comes, we must be ready to respond, to recover and to rebuild swiftly.“Our government readily learns from every example of disaster preparedness and recovery in our region and among neighbours further afield to ensure that the Cayman Islands has the resilient infrastructure necessary to protect our people, our economy and our way of life.” Importantly, the Minister reminded the Parliament that recovery from a disaster of this magnitude is not measured in days or weeks, but in months, and quite often, years.This involves the reconstruction of homes, roads and vital facilities, while communities also need time to heal.

“The Cayman Islands, commitment to Jamaica and to our other affected Caribbean neighbours will not end with this initial response.We will continue to assess needs and as much as feasible, provide support through the long process of recovery and reconstruction,” Ebanks said.“We will also engage with regional partners, including CARICOM and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency to ensure coordinated, effective assistance, and we will continue to advocate at international forum for increased climate resiliency, disaster risk reduction and support for small island developing states that face disproportionate risk from global warming.” The Minister concluded: “When Hurricane Ivan devastated us 21 years ago, we learned what it meant to lose everything and what it means to have neighbours who refuse to let you face that loss alone.

Today, the Cayman Islands are privileged to be that neighbour for Jamaica, for Cuba, and for any country in our region facing the wrath of nature in the Caribbean region.“We are small islands, but we are large in spirit, larger still in compassion, gigantic in our commitment to one another.”.All of our Artemis Live insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds and reinsurance can be accessed online.

Our can be subscribed to using the typical podcast services providers, including Apple, Google, Spotify and more.