The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) has announced the appointment of Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC as the new Placing Broker for the Facility.

A call for expressions of interest was issued by CCRIF in November 2010 for eligible firms interested in providing the services of Placing Broker. This re-tendering process was in accordance with CCRIF’s internal procedures and based on World Bank guidelines for the selection of consultants. In keeping with maintaining the cost-efficiency and full transparency of the Facility, the positions for the various service providers associated with CCRIF are re-tendered at regular intervals.

The Placing Broker works closely with CCRIF’s Facility Supervisor in the execution and subsequent management of the risk transfer programme for CCRIF on an annual basis. Services also include provision of expert advice to the Facility Supervisor and Board of Directors in the development of the risk transfer strategy and provision of general intelligence and other relevant information on individual risk transfer markets (both traditional and capital markets).

Guy Carpenter will commence work immediately on preparation for the renewal of CCRIF’s reinsurance programme on 1 June. CCRIF wishes to extend sincere gratitude to the team from Aon Benfield for the exemplary service they provided during their tenure as CCRIF Placing Broker.

Guy Carpenter thus becomes the newest member of the CCRIF Team which provides services to the Facility. Other members of the Team are: Caribbean Risk Managers Ltd – Facility Supervisor; Sagicor Insurance Managers Ltd – Insurance Manager; London & Capital Ltd and EFG Bank, Cayman Branch – Asset Managers; and Sustainability Managers – Corporate Communications Manager.

CCRIF is a risk pooling facility, owned, operated and registered in the Caribbean for Caribbean governments. It is designed to limit the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes and earthquakes to Caribbean governments by quickly providing short term liquidity when a policy is triggered. It is the world’s first and, to date, only regional fund utilising parametric insurance, giving Caribbean governments the unique opportunity to purchase earthquake and hurricane catastrophe coverage with lowest-possible pricing. CCRIF represents a paradigm shift in the way governments treat risk, with Caribbean governments leading the way in pre-disaster planning. CCRIF was developed through funding from the Japanese Government, and was capitalised through contributions to a multi-donor Trust Fund by the Government of Canada, the European Union, the World Bank, the governments of the UK and France, the Caribbean Development Bank and the governments of Ireland and Bermuda, as well as through membership fees paid by participating governments.

Sixteen governments are currently members of CCRIF: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and the Turks & Caicos Islands