Earthquake triggers US$17.4 million CCRIF payout to Panama

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands (CMC)–The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility Segregated Portfolio Company (CCRIF SPC) will pay the Government of Panama US$17.4 million following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the country on October 9, providing funds to support its disaster response within 14 days of the event.

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility said its SPHERA earthquake model estimated peak ground acceleration of up to 0.5 g in Panama, the only CCRIF member country to experience shaking above the model’s reporting threshold of 0.03 g.

The modelled government losses exceeded the attachment point of Panama’s earthquake insurance policy, triggering the payout.

According to a preliminary assessment by Panama’s National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC), the earthquake damaged homes, schools, hospitals, public buildings and roads across several provinces.

The agency’s October 12 report identified 656 affected schools. It also reported that 14 shelters had been opened to accommodate 598 people. Damage assessments and humanitarian assistance were continuing, while no deaths or missing individuals have been reported at the time the assessment was finalised.

CCRIF chief executive officer Isaac Anthony said the payout would provide the government with immediate funds to support its response.

“Our thoughts are with the people of Panama, and especially with the families and communities affected by this earthquake. This payout will give the Government immediate liquidity to support its response at the time it is most needed. Panama’s decision to secure its CCRIF earthquake coverage through the Fondo de Ahorro de Panamá is a strong example of how parametric insurance can work alongside national savings and stabilisation mechanisms as part of a layered approach to financing disaster risk,” Anthony said.

Panama has been a CCRIF member since 2018 and has previously received three payouts to support disaster response following excess rainfall associated with Hurricane Eta in 2020 and exceptional rainfall events in 2024.

Those payouts totalled approximately US$29 million. The latest payment will bring CCRIF’s total payouts to Panama to approximately US$47 million.

With the latest payment, CCRIF will have made 83 payouts to its members since its establishment in 2007, totalling more than US$500 million. The facility said all payouts had been made within 14 days of the triggering event.

CCRIF’s parametric insurance policies make payments based on predefined hazard events and losses calculated by its models, rather than assessments of actual damage on the ground.

The approach is designed to provide governments, organisations and utilities with rapid access to funds during the critical period immediately following a disaster.