Bermuda ready to help Ida build back, says BDA chair

The Bermuda (re)insurance industry stands ready to help those in the US affected by Hurricane Ida build back, the Bermuda Development Agency (BDA) has said.

“After Hurricane Ida, our thoughts are with the people of Louisiana, the Gulf Coast, and all who have been affected by this immense storm,” said Stephen Weinstein, BDA chair.

“Bermuda’s re/insurers have a long history of financing post-disaster recovery processes across the world, and we stand ready to assist in times of need. Building on our decades of experience helping to close the insurance protection gap, Bermuda is also focused on helping our partners address the climate risk protection gap by becoming a capital of climate risk finance.”

The BDA recently published figures showing that Bermuda re/insurers had paid out $400 billion to US policyholders from 1997 to 2020, and more than half of it since 2016.

“Bermuda’s leading insurers & reinsurers paid a total of $22bn to rebuild the United States Gulf and Florida Coasts from seven hurricanes between 2004-2005, including nearly 30% of insured losses from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.  More recently, the Bermuda market was estimated to pay some 30% ($3bn) of 2017 Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria losses,” Huff said.

“Hurricane Ida will be no different. Our members will provide full services to affected persons to ensure they receive the support they need following this deadly storm.”