The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE government has successfully renegotiated the country's catastrophic risk insurance, agreeing to a new policy that would divide The Bahamas into three distinct zones and structure payouts based on that arrangement.

Deputy Prime Minister K Peter Turnquest yesterday confirmed that the government was successful in having the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) agree to "segregate" the Bahamas into "north, south and central" regions with different premium and attachment points for each.

Mr Turnquest said the move will allow for more relevant and fair assessment and payouts after an event, as the attachment point for each zone reflects the risks to infrastructure in that specific area.

The East Grand Bahamas representative said the government intends to disclose the attachment points for each zone during the upcoming budget communication.

Last September, Mr Turnquest revealed the Minnis administration was working to amend the status of the country policy agreement with CCRIF, first signalling that a similar move to the one he announced yesterday, could yield The Bahamas its best value.

At the time of the suggestion, The Bahamas was due to receive a $234,000 Hurricane Irma-related payout from CCRIF, which reflected less than one per cent of the total Irma-related payouts the CCRIF had made in the region.

Moreover, the payment represented a fraction of the multi-million dollar relief fund needed in the southern islands at the time.

The former Christie administration said it withdrew from the CCRIF "after careful consideration" and advice from several government agencies.

Just months before Mr Turnquest's comments, Opposition Leader Philip "Brave" Davis announced that the move was made after the country was denied a claim after the passage of Hurricane Joaquin in 2015.

A committee was formed, he said, consisting of technical officers in the Ministry of Finance, the Meteorological Department and the Port Department, found that it was "ineffective to continue with insurance" from the CCRIF and said "it would be more cost-effective if the government self-insured."

At the time, Mr Davis said the committee found that "premiums paid to CCRIF would've been better placed into an account to aid with hurricane disaster relief."