Melissa triggers full cat bond payout for Jamaica
- June 7, 2025
- Posted by: Web workers
- Category: Workers Comp
The World Bank said Friday that the Government of Jamaica will receive a full payout of $150 million under its catastrophe insurance coverage backed by a catastrophe bond issued in 2024 by the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or IBRD.
Following Hurricane Melissa’s Jamaica landfall, analysis carried out by third-party calculation agent AIR Worldwide concluded the storm reached pre-agreed parametric triggers qualifying for a full redemption of the World Bank Catastrophe Bond.
The analysis was based on the storm’s central pressure and path as reported by the National Hurricane Center.
Jamaica first received insurance coverage against named storm events from the World Bank through a World Bank-issued catastrophe bond in 2021 and three years later renewed its coverage with the 2024 catastrophe bond.
The $150 million catastrophe bond was issued for a term of 3.67 years providing protection for Jamaica Named Storm.
“The payout underscores the role of catastrophe bonds in effective risk management strategies and their efficiency in transferring disaster risks to capital markets,” Jorge Familiar, World Bank vice president and treasurer, said in a statement.
Analysts had speculated shortly after landfall that the bond would be triggered.
Catastrophe insurance backed by catastrophe bonds are part of the World Bank’s Crisis Preparedness and Response toolkit designed to provide developing countries with tools to better respond to crises and prepare for future shocks.
