Dionne Rose, Business Reporter

Peter Levy

Local insurance companies are reporting a low number of insurance claims arising from Tropical Storm Gustav, which hit Jamaica at the end of August.

"The initial response does not suggest that there is going to be a whole lot of insurance claims. Most of the houses stood up well," said Orville Johnson, executive director of the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ).

"We didn't get a lot of wind; it was mostly the rain, so you got more flood damage."

claims slow

Claims have been slow coming in, leaving insurers to guess just how much damage was done to property.

Several have been making appeals through advertisements for their policyholders to act quickly.

Globe Insurance, up to mid-week, had got 14 notification claims, with nine of them valuing $15 million, said general manager of operations, Peter Levy. None of the individual claims reached $2 million, he said, and were for a mix of motor vehicle, residential and some commercial property.

Estimates for the remaining five claims were not submitted.

Globe, however, is working on the assumption that more claims would come in within September, saying policyholders were allowed up to 30 days from the time of damage occurring to file claims.

But, said Levy: "I don't expect a lot more. There will always be one or two things that will take a while to get done," he said.

affected areas

Levy said the majority of claims came from rural St Andrew, St Catherine, Portland and Kingston.

The National Housing Trust (NHT), which offers peril insurance to its borrowers, has given mortgagors until October 28 to file claims, and has promised a four-week turnaround time on processing.

The agency said, to make a claim, affected mortgagors must complete a peril insurance claim form, available from any NHT office. The form is to be submitted to the trust, along with an estimate of the damage, a photograph of the damage if available, and valid identification.

Mortgagors are responsible for the first two per cent - referred to as the deductible - of the sum insured.

If the affected houses were insured at $3 million, the mortgagor would be responsible for the first $60,000 of the estimated damage (two per cent of $3 million).

The agency said the mortgage agreement provides peril insurance to cover damage by flood, earthquakes and other natural disasters, but does not cover damage to the contents of the house.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com