Oct 2016 Financial News

Matthew creates flood of insurance enquiries

Oct 05, 2016

While Jamaica’s trade and commerce industries experienced some decline in business activities from the threat posed by Hurricane Matthew, most insurance companies saw an up tick in homeowner’s insurance transactions. 

Last Friday, the Meteorological Service advised that Hurricane Matthew would not spare the island as it moved into the central Caribbean, having dumped heavy showers on eastern Caribbean countries and causing at least one death.

The system threatened both livelihood and property after reaching wind speeds of 155 mph, labelling it as a Category Five hurricane — the top hurricane classification before it was downgraded to a Category Four. In Jamaica’s favour, Hurricane Matthew later moved north-west towards Haiti.

“What we got was a flood of calls about renewals as well as increases in the sums insured. People would normally renew their policies, but not so quickly,” assistant vice-president of business development at Guardian General Insurance Jamaica Limited, Sheraley Bridgeman, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Bridgeman added that in preparing for the influx of claims for damage to content and properties from the onslaught of the hurricane, Guardian General activated its team and rolled out a business continuity plan which houses insurance claim forms in efforts to have the payout process run efficiently.

But up to late yesterday evening, it was business as usual for a number of the insurance companies.

“It’s early days, but we haven’t received any reports about losses or damage,” GK General Insurance assistant general manager of personal lines, Tamara Glaze-Hucey, told the Business Observer.

She added, however, that GK General had also seen a significant increase in renewals days before Hurricane Matthew would have made its impact on Jamaica.

“In the days leading up to Friday, we did get quite a bit of phone calls querying the adequacy of sums insured and ensuring that the policies are in proper order and that content insurance was also up to date,” Glaze-Hucey said.

But according to Guardian’s Bridgeman, there have been continuous declines in the uptake of homeowners insurance in Jamaica, even throughout the known hurricane season which begins June.

“We are a last-minute set of people. The day or two days before, as it was with Matthew, you will have people calling to effect coverage, or a policy that was lapsed to reinstate it, or renew and increase the sums insured to ensure that they are properly covered — but not because its hurricane season...We don’t experience that with clients,” she explained.

Bridgeman reckons that Jamaicans are truly not aware of the effects that a Category Five Hurricane like Matthew could have on the island, and also have little knowledge of the benefits of having insurance coverage, to explain why there has not been more uptake of property insurance.

“Jamaicans need constant reminders and also insurance companies have to build that level of trust so that if and when customers do get the insurance and something happens, they get paid,” she said.

Underwriting supervisor at another prominent insurance company, Michael Bryan, also believes that public education campaigns could bring about some change in the sagging property insurance industry.

“The truth is the rates are really competitive at this time because the property market is now considered as being soft,” he said.

Today we have insurance companies offering rates at or below one per cent.”

Bryan noted that waiting until a hurricane nears Jamaica to seek insurance policies could bring more worries for home-owners since there comes a time when most insurance companies will decide that they are not taking any new business based on the risks involved.

“But, generally, persons can get insurance and it’s just to have the conversation with your insurance company or broker to find out the options available,” he said.

 

Source:
BY KARENA BENNETT
bennettk@jamaicaobserver.com
Business reporter
Jamaica Observer
Wednesday October 5, 2016 

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Matthew-creates-flood-of-insurance-enquiries_76165