Hurricane Season Intensifies Financial Challenges in the Caribbean

Sun Oct 12 2025 20:49:28 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

As the peak of hurricane season approaches, the Caribbean faces severe financial burdens with soaring insurance costs and memories of past devastating storms like Hurricane Irma. Residents navigate a precarious balance between preparedness and financial constraints.

Hurricane season is a time of anxiety for many Caribbean inhabitants, especially those who experienced the destruction of Hurricane Irma in 2017. Eight years later, home insurance has become prohibitively expensive, with some islands seeing premiums rise by as much as 40%. With the threat of natural disasters continuously looming, residents like Dwight Benjamin share their stories of personal resilience and the challenges of securing financial protection against future storms. The need for effective disaster preparedness and community support remains critical as the climate crisis escalates the frequency and severity of storms.

For some Barbudans, thunderstorms still trigger flashbacks of the night in September 2017 when they lost everything they owned to Hurricane Irma's devastating winds.

Eight years on, while memories may be close to hand, home insurance for many on Barbuda and other islands in the Caribbean's hurricane belt is more prohibitively expensive than ever.

Across the region premiums have gone through the roof in the past two years, surging by as much as 40% on some islands, according to industry figures.

Experts blame a perfect storm of increasing risk – as the region sees worsening and more rapidly intensifying cyclones – yet tiny populations of people to pay for policies, equating to poor returns for insurance companies.

Dwight Benjamin's Barbuda home was one of few left relatively undamaged by Irma. After the storm, he invested in a one-room extension topped with a concrete roof that will serve as a shelter for his family should disaster strike again.

I think the house should be sound enough but that's my added protection, he says.

With peak hurricane season now in full swing, Dwight is among many Caribbean people anxiously monitoring weather platforms for activity in the Atlantic. Should a system head his way, he will do as he did during Irma – hope and pray.

I've never had insurance; most Barbudans don't really think it's worth it. It's just an added expense to the meagre resources we have, he explains.

Plus, we believe in what we have built and that it should be able to withstand the weather.

The majority of homes on islands affected by hurricanes are uninsured. In Jamaica only 20% are reported to have cover, and just half in Barbados.

As a result of these threats of natural disaster, the cost of home insurance will always be high. One Antiguan insurance firm, Anjo, typically charges premiums of between 1.3% and 1.7% of a home's value. In contrast, in the UK, it can be less than 0.2%.

As the Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, with significant activity anticipated over the coming weeks, the region remains on edge as they remember past storms and prepare for the uncertain future.