April 7, 2008 - The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) announced the appointment of Isaac Anthony and Dr. Warren Smith to its board today. The new members will represent the interests of CARICOM and the Caribbean Development Bank respectively.
"As a Caribbean facility the CCRIF was created to serve the natural catastrophe insurance interests of Caribbean governments and the people they represent. The approval of these two appointments is another step in the fulfilment of that objective," Milo Pearson, Chairman of the CCRIF Board of Directors said. "Both Mr. Anthony and Dr. Smith are terrific additions to our board, who will no doubt make an invaluable contribution to the development and success of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility."
Dr. Smith received regulatory approval in January 2008 and Mr. Anthony in April 2008 by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).
In addition to his new position as a member of the CCRIF board Mr. Anthony is the permanent secretary/director of finance in the Ministry of Finance in St. Lucia. He also holds the position of Registrar of Insurance with responsibility for supervising and regulating the Insurance Industry and the title of chairman and founding member of the Caribbean Public Finance Association (CAPFA). Mr. Anthony is also a director on the boards of the Caribbean Development Bank and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
The Caribbean Development Bank appointed board member is Dr. Warren Smith, who has more than 30 years experience in Economics and Planning and a PhD in Economics from Cornell University. Dr. Smith is the current director of finance and corporate planning at the Caribbean Development Bank. Before this position Dr. Smith served at the National Investment Bank of Jamaica, Prudential Stockbrokers Limited, Life of Jamaica, LIAT and the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica and as a consultant for the CARICOM Secretariat and the Government of Grenada.
About the CCRIF: The CCRIF is the first multi-country risk pool in the world, and is also the first insurance instrument to successfully develop a parametric policy backed by both traditional and capital markets. It is a regional insurance fund for Caribbean governments designed to limit the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes and earthquakes to Caribbean governments by quickly providing financial liquidity when a policy is triggered. Sixteen other countries count themselves members of the fund: 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 and Caicos Islands. Last year the CCRIF paid out approximately $1M to Dominica and St. Lucia in the aftermath of the November 2007 earthquake that shook the Eastern Caribbean.
