KINGSTON, Jamaica — Nearly a year after Hurricane Melissa tore across Jamaica, a significant share of insurance claims remains unsettled, with the latest industry figures showing particularly slow progress on US dollar and non motor claims.
The Insurance Association of Jamaica says that, up to the end of September, 49 per cent of US dollar denominated Melissa claims had been fully settled and paid. For non motor claims, the settlement rate stood at 54 per cent.
The picture is considerably different for motor claims. The IAJ says 90 per cent had been fully settled and paid, while 77 per cent of Jamaican dollar denominated claims had reached that stage.
Those percentages provide the clearest recent snapshot from the insurance industry of how the Melissa claims process is progressing. They also show that many households and businesses remain in the claims system months after the disaster.
The IAJ has not, in its latest public statement, disclosed the total number of claims represented by those percentages, the total monetary value still outstanding, the average age of unresolved claims, or how many cases remain awaiting final loss adjuster reports. That makes it difficult for policyholders to judge the financial size of the remaining backlog from the percentages alone.
Industry had set September objective
The latest disclosure is significant because the insurance industry had previously identified the end of September as an important point in the recovery process.
A joint industry statement discussed in August said the objective was to settle the vast majority of Hurricane Melissa claims by the end of September, excluding complex and litigated cases.
The latest settlement percentages cannot be directly measured against that objective because the categories, exclusions and underlying claim numbers have not been published on the same basis. But the figures make clear that substantial work remains, particularly outside the motor insurance segment.
The IAJ says member insurers have now intensified reviews of outstanding files. Attention is being directed towards claims where communication has been limited, loss adjuster reports remain outstanding, settlement offers have not been resolved, or reinstatement work remains under way.
Property claims under scrutiny
The backlog is only one part of a wider insurance issue that has developed since Melissa.
The Financial Services Commission has been examining concerns about the processing and settlement of hurricane claims and has undertaken a focused review of the application of the average clause in cases involving underinsurance.
The regulator previously acknowledged concerns about insurer responsiveness and made clear that the exceptional volume of catastrophe claims does not remove insurers’ responsibility to handle claims fairly, transparently and within the applicable legal and contractual framework.
The average clause can materially reduce a property insurance payment when the building has been insured for less than its replacement value.
For example, if a property is insured for only 70 per cent of its actual replacement value, the insurer may pay only the same proportion of an otherwise covered loss, subject also to the deductible and the precise wording of the policy.
It is an important distinction for homeowners. An approved claim does not necessarily mean that the policyholder will receive the full cost of the damage claimed.
The FSC’s review followed complaints and public questions about claim delays, valuations and the way the average clause has been applied after Melissa. The regulator has sought additional information from insurers as part of its supervisory work.
Tourism businesses report major delays
Pressure on insurers has also been coming from Jamaica’s tourism industry.
A recent Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association survey found that only 39 per cent of responding tourism claimants said their Melissa claims had been fully settled and paid. More than six in ten therefore remained without full settlement at the time of the survey.
The JHTA also reported that seven in ten claimants surveyed said deductions exceeded what they understood their agreed average clause to provide, while about one third reported deductions exceeding 40 per cent of the value of their claims.
Those are claims reported by surveyed JHTA members, not regulatory findings that insurers acted improperly. The FSC review is important precisely because questions over policy interpretation and claim calculations require evidence and examination rather than assumption.
The JHTA has also said some businesses were being told that shortages of suitably qualified property loss adjusters were contributing to delays in finalising complex cases.
The IAJ has acknowledged that Melissa created an exceptional concentration of property claims and placed heavy pressure on loss adjusting resources. It says insurers are working with the loss adjusting sector to move cases forward and, where feasible, reassign work or identify claims that can proceed without further delay.
An extraordinary insurance event
The scale of Melissa helps explain the pressure, although it does not settle questions about individual claims.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in western Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as a Category 5 hurricane with estimated maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, making it one of the strongest Atlantic hurricane landfalls on record.
The World Bank and Inter American Development Bank subsequently estimated physical damage in Jamaica at US$8.8 billion. Residential buildings accounted for an estimated 41 per cent of assessed physical damage, making housing the single largest component of the initial damage assessment.
That level of destruction placed homeowners, businesses, insurers, brokers, valuers and loss adjusters under extraordinary pressure at the same time.
But almost one year later, attention is increasingly shifting from the scale of the original disaster to the speed, transparency and final value of settlements.
For customers still waiting, a percentage describing national progress is not the same as knowing when their own claim will be concluded.
What policyholders can do
The FSC advises customers who are unhappy with the handling of an insurance claim to first use the formal complaints process of their insurer or broker. Where the matter remains unresolved, a written complaint can be referred to the FSC, subject to the regulator’s complaints procedures and jurisdiction.
Policyholders should retain their policy schedule, correspondence, valuation reports, photographs, estimates, loss adjuster documents, settlement calculations and any written explanation of deductions.
They should also distinguish between the amount of the loss, the property’s insured value, its assessed replacement value, the applicable average clause and the catastrophe deductible. Each can affect the final payment.
The IAJ says insurers are increasing their focus on unresolved Melissa cases and improving communication with policyholders.
For the families and businesses still waiting, the next meaningful measure will not simply be another percentage.
It will be whether outstanding claims are finally explained, calculated and brought to resolution.
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