Hoteliers Press Insurance Firms Over Slow Hurricane Melissa Claim Settlements

Hoteliers and other business operators hit hard by Hurricane Melissa say they still have not received full payouts under policies they purchased, renewing pressure on Jamaica's insurance sector months after the storm.

Moncur, managing director of Blue Fez Bay Villa and Suites, said the property suffered extensive damage when Melissa passed through. With the resort insured, he expected a swift recovery. Instead, he said, the insurer has still not settled the claim.

"When we came out after Melissa, we'd gone through the first storm. We didn't realize that we were going to be going through another storm. And that second storm was the process of trying to rely on the insurance that we bought and paid for to help us rebuild the resort and our community," Moncur said.

He argued that local claims handling should follow international best practice: damage is reported, a claim is filed, it is assessed, and both sides agree on the payout. In his view, Jamaica's framework leaves insurers firmly in control, and while some policy terms may be lawful, they are used to stall and shrink payments in ways other markets have moved to curb.

Hotelier Richard Wallace said that despite paying premiums for years, he learned after the disaster that he could not recover the sum he believed his business was covered for.

"For decades, every year they tell us they reinsure and uh and they they give us a price and we pay it and they say yes you're insured only to find out when there's a crisis that you're not insured because the first thing they tell you you're under insured and they use these formulas and and all that to calculate and and at the end of the day you end up getting a fraction of what you insured your property for and and that's not right. I think the insurance company has let down the business community the time when we need them the most they're they're they're they're not there," Wallace said.

He described the system as broken and in need of urgent repair, warning that drawn-out settlements carry wide economic consequences. "This is a crisis that needs to be dealt with because it it has far-reaching implications for the economy. If businesses cannot get back on track first of all it cannot take 7 months," he said.

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has urged insurers to fast-track settlements for Melissa-affected businesses. Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Delano Seiveright said the Government will work with the private sector within the laws governing the industry to make insurers more responsive to conditions in Western Jamaica.

"It is simply unfair if these people are being treated in a way that is inappropriate and probably deleterious to their business endeavors," Seiveright said.