The Editor, Sir

AMID much media misconception regarding the role of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) which has surfaced since the policy held by Jamaica did not trigger a payment for Hurricane Dean, I want to immediately set the record straight regarding an article in your newspaper on Wednesday, August 22.

In Mr. Collister's article "Jamaica won't benefit from Caribbean Insurance", the penultimate paragraph reads:

"At the request of Caribbean governments, the CCRIF was specifically designed to provide coverage for severe catastrophes or 'real catastrophes', as Dr. Young puts it."

Deliberately framed

The two words from me are deliberately framed to be mis-leading and I in no way intended to diminish the scale of Hurricane Dean's impact on the lives of many people in Jamaica and, indeed, elsewhere in the region.

My family and I have close ties to Jamaica and many of our closet friends went through the storm. I have spent more than 12 years working with Caribbean governments to help build more resilience to natural catastrophes, and have never viewed their impacts as anything less than devastating, both to individuals and to entire countries.

The CCRIF was designed to fill a specific need of governments during major catastrophic events in which entire country economies come under threat. There are many mechanisms already in place to assist with immediate disaster relief and rebuilding, and this regional and international assistance, along with the wonderful resilience and spirit of the Jamaican people, will, I hope, ensure that Hurricane Dean will not cause lasting suffering.

The fact that CCRIF didn't pay out for 'Dean' means that the money remains available for the severe catastrophes in which its payouts will be most sorely needed.

I am, etc.,

Dr. Simon R. Young

Caribbean Risk Managers Ltd.

Supervisor, Caribbean

Catastrophe Risk Insurance

Facility