Sabrina Gordon, Business Reporter

Banana trees growing on the Eastern Banana Estate in Golden Grove, St. Thomas, that were ravaged by Hurricane Dean, on Sunday. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Insurance companies have not yet completed their assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Dean, but already they are forecasting claims to be much less than the amount paid out for Hurricane Ivan.

According to general manager of American Home Insurance Company (AHC), Earl Codling, total claims estimated for Ivan was $750 million for his company.

But he said, "I don't think this time around it will be anywhere near this" given that there was not as much rain as with Ivan. "Hurricane Dean had more wind and less rain, thus damage should be less," he explained.

Codling estimated that total claims should be about $250 million, one-third of the total cost for Hurricane Ivan.

Karen Bhoorasingh of West Indies Alliance Insurance, whose major business is in commercial property, told the Financial Gleaner that "The claims process has been going well, not a lot of claims are coming in at the moment."

This, she suggested, might be an indication that there were no widespread significant loss from the hurricane. She, however, noted yesterday that it may be too early to predict, given that it was the second working day after the passage of the hurricane.

Bhoorasingh, too, also expected total claims to be less than that the amount paid out for Ivan, which was approximately US$30million for her company.

"No specific on losses can be given. However, the damage appears to be less, thus we are expecting claims to be less," said Evan Thwaites, managing director of Globe Insurance Company.

While noting that itwas early days, Moreen Marks, vice-president of risk management at the Insurance Company of the West Indies (ICWI), said she did not expect claims to exceed $300 million. This is compared with the $203 million ICWI paid for damage claims sustained to property and motor vehicles combined), reported .

Although report claims have been slow, insurance companies are encouraging individuals and firms to report losses even though the estimates may not be available. A period of between 30 and 60 days is allowed to report losses and to produce loss estimates.

The insurance companies also indicated that they have adjusters in the field assessing loss exposure. "We are not waiting for reports to come in, but rather going out to assess damage for ourselves," Codling told the Financial Gleaner. To date the company has received 35 claims estimates, eight of which were for commercial properties, with the remaining 27 being for personal property (homeowners).

"At the moment, we are trying to get an aerial view of the potential damage, so as to give our overseas partners an indication of the potential loss," said Bryon Leslie, assistant manager for underwriting at Jamaica International Insurance Company. He said it too early to provide figures.

Globe Insurance Company said it has received 12 claims so far, while ICWI has received 20 notifications to which they have already assigned external adjusters to estimate loss value.

For AHC the most significant claim figure received so far is US$29,000 ($2 million) from the Airports Authority, mainly for roof damage. For personal property, the most significant claim to date amounted to $350,000, the company said.

Eight cases of no insurance for contents were identified with claims made to AHC. This resulted in the twin problem of getting repairs done, whilst replacing content out of pocket, which compounded losses sustained by individuals.

The insurance companies expect that they should be able to give a complete assessment of the damage by month end.

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com