Barbados Fishing Industry Faces Challenges After Hurricane Beryl: Insurance Industry Responds

Despite Beryl’s impact on the fishing industry, with scores of boats either sunk or damaged, the insurance industry’s chief spokesman does not believe the foreseeable claims will have a major impact on insurance.

According to President of the General Insurance Association of Barbados (GIAB) Randy Graham, many boat owners have insurance and will be taken care of, following Hurricane Beryl’s devastating blow to their livelihoods

“There are lots of vessels that have insurance cover on them,” he told Barbados TODAY. “The ones that have insurance policies, it won’t be a problem. The policies will trigger, and those that have coverage will be taken care of by the insurance companies.”

However, he expressed concern for those without insurance, highlighting the need for community and governmental support.

“But I think the unfortunate circumstance is that we understand, at least so far, that a number of the boats that have been damaged don’t carry insurance cover. So I think those are the ones that we have to figure out how to help those families,” Graham said.

He noted that while boat owners try to secure their vessels when bad weather is approaching, Barbados does not have the infrastructure to stow the entire fleet.

Graham warned that the country has been “extremely lucky” to avoid significant damage from recent storms, despite their increasing frequency and intensity. And he appeared open to discussing with the government a programme to provide low-cost basic insurance coverage for homes that ordinarily don’t qualify for insurance.

He told Barbados TODAY that storms are getting “bigger” and “more intense”, as well as coming closer to the island.

Though noting that recent storms caused minimal structural damage due to winds not reaching hurricane force, Graham emphasised the urgent need for more robust insurance coverage among residents.

He acknowledged the economic pressures that lead some to forgo coverage but warned of the risks.

“The scary thing is that when you get things like Beryls approaching and people realise, ‘oh, if this thing damages my house, I have no savings, no access to loans, and I have no way to rebuild because I don’t have an insurance policy’, that’s when they realise the value of insurance,” the GIAB boss said.

“We have to find ways to get people to understand that the value of insurance is far beyond what we have to pay, but there’s the peace of mind that if something happens, I can rebuild my house tomorrow and me and my family can be safe,” Graham said.