A Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) survey of members finds that six in ten Hurricane Melissa insurance claims in the tourism sector remain unresolved, as the insurance industry’s own end-of-September target for settling the bulk of claims arrives. In August, the Financial Services Commission, the Insurance Association of Jamaica, the Jamaica Insurance Brokers Association and the Loss Adjusters’ Association of Jamaica jointly committed to settling the vast majority of Melissa claims, excluding complex and litigated matters, by the end of September 2026. For tourism, the JHTA says, that target will not be met.

The survey finds that:

• More than eight in ten respondents submitted a Melissa claim, and none of those who did not file cited a lack of cover.
• Only 39 per cent of claimants report their claim has been fully settled and paid. The remaining 61 per cent are still waiting at some stage of the process.
• Seven in ten claimants report deductions above what their agreed average clause provides, and around a third report deductions exceeding 40 per cent of the claim value.
• Two in three operators expect to recover less than three-quarters of their loss, and only one in ten expects full recovery.
• More than a quarter appear to have accepted final settlements below their claimed loss.

“Our members did their part. They held cover, declared their exposure and filed in good faith,” said JHTA President O’Brian Heron. “The issue is not access to cover. It is cash. Claims are being paid slowly and settled short, and that leaves a working-capital hole across the sector.” Members report being told by insurers that delays stem from claim complexity and a shortage of licensed property adjusters. “Complexity is not an acceptable excuse for delay, still less for silence, and it does not justify deductions beyond the policy terms,” Mr Heron said. “Insurers accepted our business on the basis that they had the capacity to respond when the need arose.”

No member reports a claim in dispute or litigation, and the JHTA stresses that it is not seeking a confrontation with insurers. The Association notes that the Most Honourable Prime Minister has himself called on insurers to speed up Melissa settlements. The JHTA also restated its opposition to the proposed increase in General Consumption Tax on tourism from 10 to 15 per cent. “Our position is clear: the sector cannot afford it, and that case stands on its own merits,” Mr Heron said. “But operators are now making it while fighting a second battle, to recover money they are contractually owed for losses they have already paid to repair from their own resources. Twenty-eight per cent of hotels have yet to reopen.”

The JHTA is calling for:

1. Insurers to report publicly, against their end-September commitment, how many commercial and tourism claims remain open, and to give every outstanding claimant a named contact and a written timeline to resolution.
2. The Financial Services Commission to ensure its average-clause review reflects the experience of commercial and tourism policyholders, and to publish its conclusions.
3. The industry and regulator to agree a catastrophe-claims protocol, including loss-adjuster surge capacity, before the next storm.
4. Government to weigh this evidence in its fiscal deliberations affecting the sector.

 “Our members bought insurance precisely so they would not need special treatment,” Mr Heron said. “What they need now is for that promise to be honoured in full, and in time to make a difference.”