The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamian insurance industry was yesterday nervously watching its computer models and television forecasts, amid hopes that “a major loss event” could be avoided if Hurricane Joaquin stays on its projected path.

Tom Duff, Insurance Company of the Bahamas (ICB) general manager, told Tribune Business that the Category 4 storm would miss the bulk of the Bahamas’ major infrastructure and insured risks if it avoided New Providence and the northwestern Bahamas.

“If it misses New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco, then the insurance industry exposure in this central and southern belt will be fairly small by comparison,” Mr Duff said.

“I don’t think it will be a major loss event for the industry if the projections are correct. For the moment, if the predictions hold, it’s not going to be a major loss for the industry either way.”

However, the ICB general manager warned that the insurance industry was taking nothing for granted, and Bahamians living outside the projected path of Joaquin should not take chances.

“There’s a fairly significant error ratio right now. The goalposts can change very quickly,” Mr Duff told Tribune Business.

He confirmed that Bahamian property and casualty insurers had already implemented the standard moratorium on writing new business whenever a hurricane is threatening, although policy renewals that are due are still being honoured.

Rupert Roberts, Super Value’s owner, told this newspaper that the supermarket chain had placed itself “ahead of the game” by bringing in its total perishables supply yesterday.

“We bought all of our perishables in yesterday and today,” he confirmed. “We have all of them in case we do have a hurricane threat. Whether we do or not, we don’t have to content with the dock and Customs overtime. We got ahead of the game.”

Mr Roberts said Super Value’s stores were busy yesterday morning with “quite a bit of hurricane shopping”, as Nassau residents prepared in case Joaquin changed track, with a further rush anticipated in the evening.

“It’s because of the uncertainty; the intensity and uncertainty,” he added. “All the store managers have been calling in for overtime; so they can bring in extra cashiers.

“We know something is going on. It’s expensive when you have to call for overtime. But it gives a better service, and we have to keep the public pleased.

Super Value has a 105,000 square foot warehouse and “at least” a $10 million inventory to enable it to cope with pre-storm buying demands.

Mr Roberts explained that the sales spike this generated produced a temporary effect, and tended to even out as consumers ate up the extra food and drink purchased in readiness for a hurricane.

“Whether we have a boost or not, it gets into the pantry and gets used up,” he told Tribune Business. “From the last scare [Tropical Storm Erika], we were up 23 per cent, and the next three weeks, we lost it.

“We didn’t do what we did the previous year, as consumers were using up the 23 per cent that goes into the pantry.”

Mr Roberts added of Joaquin: “Right now I see danger, although they’re predicting otherwise. The reports from the southern islands are not good, with a lot of flooding.”

Club Med’s San Salvador resort, which is directly in Joaquin’s path, is currently in its annual ‘closure’ period and therefore is hosting no guests currently. A small number of employees and suppliers are currently hunkered down on the property.

Guests remain at Sandals Emerald Bay on Exuma, as the island’s airport is closed. The resort has implemented its hurricane readiness protocols.