THE Financial Services Commission (FSC) has stepped up pressure on general insurers over Hurricane Melissa claims, warning that the scale of the catastrophe does not reduce insurers’ obligation to handle claims fairly, transparently, and without avoidable delay.

The regulator’s June 28 public advisory comes eight months after Melissa battered Jamaica and amid mounting complaints from policyholders, hoteliers, and business operators who say delayed insurance payments are slowing reconstruction and business recovery.

While insurers have pointed to a shortage of property loss adjusters, reinsurance documentation requirements, and complex claims as key bottlenecks, the FSC said policyholders must receive clear information on the status of their claims, any documents or access required, material developments affecting processing, and the reasons for any delay or adjustment.

“Notwithstanding, these circumstances do not diminish the obligation of insurers to handle claims fairly, transparently, in a timely manner —, in accordance with the applicable policy terms and conditions, and legislative and regulatory framework governing Jamaica’s insurance industry,” the FSC stated.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness last month urged insurers to speed up the payment of claims, citing complaints he had received from affected policyholders. Several hoteliers and business operators in western Jamaica have also publicly criticised the general insurance industry over delays in settling claims. For many businesses, those payments are critical to reconstruction, reopening, and the restoration of normal operations.

General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica Limited Group CEO Sharon Donaldson Levine said at the Mayberry Investor Forum on May 26 that general insurers had been submitting reports to the FSC every two weeks on their Hurricane Melissa exposure. Separately, in its June 28 advisory, the FSC said it had requested detailed Hurricane Melissa claims data from licensed general insurers as part of its enhanced supervisory response, which also includes closer engagement with the industry, strengthened complaints monitoring, and a focused review of issues arising from the use of the “average” clause in underinsurance cases.

The average clause can reduce a policyholder’s payout whereby the insured value of a property is below its replacement cost. In practical terms, a homeowner or business operator who is underinsured may receive only a proportion of the loss, even if the policy itself is valid.

The FSC reminded policyholders who are concerned about delays or dissatisfied with the handling of their claims to first use the complaints process of their insurer or broker before escalating unresolved matters to the regulator at
complaints@fscjamaica.org. It also urged policyholders, when purchasing or renewing coverage, to review their policy terms and conditions — including limits, exclusions and insured values — and to seek clarification from their insurer or broker where any aspect of the coverage is unclear.

“The FSC understands the increased operational demands for the insurance industry in the event of a catastrophe; the FSC continues to support and champion the need for insurers to balance operational challenges with the need to assess and settle valid claims without avoidable delays, in alignment with sound market conduct and consumer protection outcomes,” the FSC added.

The general insurance industry has pointed to a shortage of loss adjusters as one of the main reasons for the delay in settling claims. Loss adjusters are independent professionals who assess the damage, review supporting evidence, estimate the cost of repairs or replacement, and provide reports used by insurers in deciding settlement offers.

According to the FSC’s April 2026 list of registered insurance intermediaries reviewed by the Jamaica Observer, 15 of the 32 listed loss adjusters are registered to handle property claims while 27 are registered to handle motor vehicle claims.

The figures help explain why insurers say property claims have taken longer to settle, with fewer than half of the listed loss adjusters registered for property claims even as Hurricane Melissa generated a surge in damage to homes, hotels and other businesses.

Donaldson Levine said reinsurers have helped cap the downside risk faced by general insurers, but insurers still need loss adjuster reports to support recoveries under their reinsurance arrangements.

Reinsurers are firms that take on part of the risk written by an insurance company, allowing the insurer to limit its exposure to large losses. The exact share retained by the insurer and passed on to reinsurers varies by treaty and class of business. In major property claims, adjuster reports can be critical because they support both the insurer’s settlement decision and the recovery due from reinsurers.

“There was a shortage of loss adjusters in Jamaica, and we can’t pay a claim without a loss adjuster because those loss adjuster reports have to go to our reinsurers,” the GENAC CEO said on the May 26 • Mayberry Investor Forum.

At Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited’s May 20 annual general meeting, Chief Financial Officer Andre Ho Lung said Advantage General Insurance Company Limited (AGIC) had adjudicated about half of its submitted claims and was well supported by reinsurance. Adjudication means the insurer has assessed the claim and arrived at a position, but that does not necessarily mean the policyholder has already received payment.

“I believe that virtually the vast majority of claims have now been submitted to AGIC but claims adjudication will take some time, particularly if the claims are complex,” Ho Lung added.

IronRock Insurance Company Limited CEO Christian Watt said delays are also being affected by some co-insured policies wherein one insurer acts as the lead insurer while others share portions of the same risk. In those cases, the timing of a settlement offer can depend on the lead insurer completing its assessment and coordinating with the other participating insurers.

Watt also said general insurers have capital on standby to make payments, with several firms receiving advanced cash-call payments from reinsurers to settle Hurricane Melissa claims.

“The challenge that the industry has had is getting the official reports of what the damage was in order for me, as an insurer, to propose an offer or settlement. That’s where the bottleneck is. When the settlement is agreed, payments are happening within the week,” Watt explained.

These delays are compounded by the use of the average clause for underinsured policies.

The Financial Services Commission has reteirated the need for general insurers and brokers to communicate and be transparent with policyholders.

Donaldson Levine revealed that seven out of every 10 claims GENAC received were underinsured, while Watt noted that half of the claims received were underinsured. Those Ironrock claims had an average 75 per cent underinsurance, which will significantly impact the payout to be received by a policyholder.

The delay in receiving insurance payments has additional repercussions for businesses and other insurance payments. Several businesses are relying on their insurance payments to restore business and support staff who need work to cover their bills.

Business interruption claims can take longer to settle because the loss often has to be quantified over the period during which the business is unable to operate normally.

“The point of business interruption is that it pays for while the business was down. You won’t know what you’ve lost until you have put your business back in a position to be reinstated,” Watt responded on why these claims will persist until the end of 2026.

Andrew Houston Moncure, managing director of Bluefields Bay Villas & Suites in Westmoreland, wrote in a Jamaica Observer business column on June 25 that he had been waiting since November 2025 for a substantive update on his insurance claim. He said the delay had affected his ability to repair the business and had raised deeper questions about Jamaica’s insurance process.

“There is something deeply wrong with a system that demands the most of a person exactly when it has left them with the least,” Moncure stated.

The FSC published revised market conduct guidelines in February 2019 for insurance companies and insurance intermediaries, setting out minimum standards for how insurers and intermediaries should deal with customers and policyholders. However, the guidelines themselves do not appear to set out detailed, claims-specific penalties for failing to meet those standards.

One unresolved issue is whether Jamaica’s existing market conduct framework gives the FSC enough practical leverage over claims delays before a settlement figure is agreed. Regulation 135 of the Insurance Regulations deals with payment of claims once key matters — including proof of the insured event, liability, the amount payable, and the claimant’s entitlement — have been established. But where disputes remain over adjustment reports, underinsurance, policy interpretation, or the amount payable, policyholders may still face a long wait before the payment clock effectively starts.

Thus, as the financial sector continues to prepare for the twin peaks regulatory regime, policyholders affected by Hurricane Melissa will continue to wait in limbo for there to be progress in getting paid on their claims.

“The FSC will consider lessons learned from the impact of Hurricane Melissa in the enhancement of the regulatory, supervisory, consumer protection and public education measures. The commission remains committed to maintaining public confidence in Jamaica’s insurance sector through effective regulation, supervision and meaningful stakeholder engagement,” the FSC closed.

A business owner stands inside a storm-damaged hotel lobby holding insurance documents, as unfinished repairs and debris remain months after Hurricane Melissa. There has been growing frustration among policyholders awaiting claim settlements needed to rebuild homes, hotels and businesses.