Susan Gordon, Staff Reporter
WITH THIS year's hurri-cane season predicted to be twice as active as year 2005 for the region, insurance practitioners will convene next month to explore issues related to the preparedness of the industry and the insured to weather disaster.
One of their challenges is to present the pricing mechanism which will attract and maintain existing reinsurers for their business.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Hilton Kingston hotel, in St. Andrew yesterday president of the Insurance Association of the Caribbean Incorporated's (IAC) and Guardian Life Insurance Company, Earl Moore, said over 600 insurance practitioners will participate in the IAC's 26th annual conference.
The event will be held between June 4 and 7 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay, St. James, and will attract members from the 25 countries which represent the association. These range from the Caribbean islands, North America and Germany. The theme of the conference will be 'Oh Katrina ... we must survive'.
RISING INSURANCE CLAIMS
Mr. Moore noted that in the past five and a half years insurers have already begun to see rising insurance claims. "Here in the Caribbean we are continually challenged to provide affordable insurance coverage to our customers while we keep at bay over-exposure or insolvency," he said.
He explained that an excess of US$91 million was paid out in losses from weather-related disasters in the 90s, while president of Jamaica Association of General Insurance Company, Andrew Levy, argued that "Year 2005 was the single most expensive year for natural disaster ever in the history of insurance and reinsurance."
"Our challenge is to get to the right pricing strategies to make it attractive for our reinsurers to continue with us. A lot of the content of the conference will be focused on that and this year we are looking at life and health, where 'Katrina' effect has been an unpredictable impact," said director of IAC, Sandra Donaldson.
