Future changes in climate will have negative implications for this country and the region as a whole.{{more}}

And so with this in mind, the Insurance Institute of St Vincent and the Grenadines brought various key stakeholders together to inform members of the insurance sector here on the impact of the phenomenon Wednesday, March 23.

Participants heard presentations from persons representing the Ministry of Health, Planning and Tourism (National Parks) with the overall aim of focusing in on the impact of climate change on a local and regional scale.

“It is a phenomenon that is going on and there is a lot of information out there, but we decided to bring it to a local level,” Simonne Goodluck, Secretary of the Insurance Institute told SEARCHLIGHT.

She contended that while there is a lot of information on the issue of climate change, the information was only being made available to persons that work in various governmental departments, and not getting down to the ordinary citizens.

“Some are ignorant to the idea,” she said.

Goodluck further explained that the phenomenon was of particular interest to persons working in the insurance sector as it had the potential to affect the way they conduct business.

“Climate change is a topic that is constant and emerging and one that is becoming important not just for members of the general public, but from a business perspective,” Royron Adams, the Insurance Institute’s President explained.

He explained the importance of educating insurers saying that the phenomenon had the capability of changing the way insurance companies underwrite policies.

In addressing the issue of mitigation, Adams explained that more stringent underwriting policies may be needed to get policy holders to adhere to building codes or restructure pricing mechanisms depending on the area a person chose to live.

These are all measures that have been considered before, he told SEARCHLIGHT, adding that those issues warranted the need for persons to be better informed on climate change and the consequences. (DD)