Estimated Damage From November 29 Earthquake Set To Trigger CCRIF Policy
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Initial calculation based on preliminary earthquake data suggests payout for two CCRIF members
Thursday, December 6, 2007 - CCRIF, the Caribbean’s first joint reserve fund for earthquake and hurricane catastrophes, has indicated that, based on initial findings, it will likely make a payment to the governments of Saint Lucia and Dominica as a result of the November 29 earthquake.
The earthquake occurred at 19:00:19 UTC (GMT, 19 seconds after 3pm local time), close to Martinique in the eastern Caribbean, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS location data publicly available at 12:00 UTC (8 am local time in the Eastern Caribbean) on November 30 was used to calculate the preliminary result. The USGS information sets the parameter, which activates insurance policy terms. At the interim and final calculation times, USGS data in the public domain will be used to calculate actual payouts made under policies held by member governments. The final payout amount to each country will be proportional to the coverage purchased by the respective governments.
The earthquake was given a preliminary moment magnitude of 7.4, depth of 143 km, Latitude: 14.95° N and Longitude: 61.24° W. It was felt throughout the Leeward and Windward islands, as far north as Anguilla and southwards to Guyana. Initial reports suggest significant damage in Martinique and some damage in northern Saint Lucia and southern Dominica.
“The CCRIF was designed to provide its member governments with quick relief in the case of catastrophic earthquake or hurricane loss. Based on initial data from the USGS this earthquake exceeded policy attachment points in two of the 13 member nations that bought earthquake coverage,” Dr Simon Young, Supervisor of the CCRIF, said. “The precise location estimated by USGS has been refined several times since this event occurred and may be further revised before the official interim and then final payout calculations are made by CCRIF and verified by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (Cayman) 13 and 27 days from the date of the notice.”
The CCRIF is a regional insurance fund for Caribbean governments. Although not intended as a panacea, the CCRIF is designed to limit the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes and earthquakes to Caribbean governments by quickly providing financial liquidity when a policy is triggered. Sixteen countries count themselves members of the fund: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands. |
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