KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) says it has settled 91.1 per cent of insurance claims reported across specified categories following Hurricane Melissa, with payments totalling $59.4 billion, as the industry marks one year since the devastating storm.

According to statistics from the association’s latest industry report released on Wednesday, 8,450 of the 9,365 claims recorded had been settled as at October 23, 2026, leaving 915 claims outstanding.

The report noted that property claims payments amounted to $57.1 billion, while motor claims payments totalled $2.3 billion.

The IAJ said the figures reflected the insurance sector’s contribution to Jamaica’s recovery but acknowledged that the process remained incomplete for policyholders awaiting settlements.

The association said insurers remained focused on resolving outstanding claims as promptly and fairly as possible while maintaining communication with affected customers.

Tammara Glaves-Hucey, IAJ vice-president for general insurance, said Hurricane Melissa had reinforced the need to make adequate insurance coverage and financial literacy national priorities.

“Insurance cannot prevent a hurricane, but it can determine how quickly a family recovers, a business reopens and a community gets back on its feet,” Glaves-Hucey said.

“Melissa showed that Jamaica’s insurance protection gap is not only an industry issue; it is also a national resilience issue. Closing it will require collaboration, stronger financial literacy and insurance solutions that more Jamaicans can understand and access,” she continued.

The association identified consumer education as one of the key lessons from Hurricane Melissa, emphasising the importance of helping policyholders understand their coverage before disaster strikes.

It said customers needed clear information about policy benefits, claims assessment procedures and the importance of maintaining adequate sums insured to reflect the cost of replacing or repairing damaged property.

The IAJ said the industry would continue working with insurance intermediaries and other stakeholders to educate consumers about replacement values, underinsurance, deductibles, the average clause and policy exclusions.

The association also acknowledged that affordability remained a critical consideration for households and businesses when deciding how much insurance protection they could maintain.

Glaves-Hucey said preparation and education had to begin well before a hurricane threatened the island, giving customers the opportunity to review their coverage and understand what to expect when making a claim.

“Customers need practical information to understand the protection they have purchased, assess whether it remains adequate and know what to expect if they make a claim. Insurers must support them with clear communication, stronger systems and better risk information. Equally important, recovery must focus on rebuilding stronger so that communities are less vulnerable when the next disaster occurs,” Glaves-Hucey said.

The IAJ also pointed to the need for regularly tested catastrophe response plans, stronger claims-handling and loss-adjusting capacity, reliable service-provider networks and increased use of technology to improve claims processing.

It said consistent communication with policyholders was particularly important where complex losses required additional assessment and longer settlement periods.

Better information on property values, construction methods, locations and catastrophe exposure would also help insurers improve pricing, reinsurance arrangements and risk mitigation while supporting a faster response after disasters.

The IAJ said Hurricane Melissa had exposed the vulnerability of uninsured and underinsured households and businesses, particularly in severely affected communities where limited insurance coverage meant less financial support was available for rebuilding.

Therefore, the association is encouraging the development of simpler, more affordable and accessible insurance products for homeowners, renters and small and medium-sized enterprises. It identified microinsurance and parametric insurance as potential options where appropriate, alongside wider distribution networks, easier digital access and improved information about underserved communities.

Parametric insurance typically provides a predetermined payout when specified conditions or measurable events are met, rather than relying solely on an assessment of the policyholder’s actual losses.

The association said households should incorporate insurance education and regular reviews of their sums insured into their financial planning, while businesses should make adequate coverage a central part of their business-continuity arrangements.

Glaves-Hucey said closing the protection gap would require insurers to make coverage easier to understand and access, while Government and other stakeholders strengthened financial literacy and disaster resilience.

“The lesson from Hurricane Melissa is clear: Jamaica cannot wait for the next disaster to prepare for it,” she said.

The IAJ reaffirmed its commitment to working with national stakeholders to make consumer education a central pillar of catastrophe preparedness, expand access to appropriate insurance protection and support a more financially protected and disaster-resilient Jamaica.