Caribbean's parametric cat fund CCRIF gives over $3.6m payouts to Guatemala and Belize

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF SPC) has made a payout of $203,136 to the Government of Belize on its excess rainfall parametric insurance policy, and a $3.6 million payout to Guatemala following tropical Storms Amanda and Cristobal.

Amanda was a tropical cyclone that originated in the Pacific Ocean and brought rains that affected Belize on May 30, and later became a cross-over cyclone from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

This marks the second payout made by CCRIF to the Government of Belize after it paid $261,073 following Tropical Cyclone Earl in 2016.

Since its inception in 2007, CCRIF has made a total of 43 payouts for 21 events, including earthquakes, tropical cyclones, and excess rainfall events, to 14 member governments totalling $155.8 million.

In the 2019/20 policy year ending May 31, 2020, CCRIF made five payouts - two to The Bahamas totalling $12.8 million following Hurricane Dorian, which battered the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama in September 2019; one to Trinidad & Tobago totalling $362,982 for its excess rainfall policy, which was triggered due to rainfall associated with Tropical Cyclone Karen in October 2019; one payout of $3.6 million to Guatemala also due to rains from Amanda and Cristobal.

Earlier in June, CCRIF received a grant of $11 million from the European Union (EU) for support for its Caribbean members under the EU Global COVID-19 Response. Belize and the other CCRIF Caribbean members have benefited from a 26 per cent discount on their gross premium which they are able to make use of in the 2020/21 and/or 2021/22 policy years.