Hurricane Melissa triggers US$81m insurance payout for damage to Flow network
Published:Wednesday | November 19, 2025 | 12:05 AM
Liberty Latin America expects to recover US$81 million in insurance payouts for hurricane damage to Flow Jamaica’s network.
Restoration of the network continues post-Melissa, the pace of which is dependent on the restoration of electricity supplies.
“So as the power comes back, you’ll see our network recover,” said Liberty Latin America CEO Balan Nair during this month’s virtual investor briefing.
Nair noted on the investor call last week that the hurricane damaged several towers, but up to then roughly 40 to 45 per cent of Flow’s network areas currently have electricity restored.
“One of the advantages of parametric insurance over traditional indemnity coverage is that it pays out quickly, which facilitates faster repair and rebuild,” he said.
The telecoms also reported that some 140,000 customers had temporarily connected to rival provider Starlink, which offered satellite-based service during the outage.
“As recovery efforts continue, we are beginning to see customers returning to our mobile network,” Nair said. “While it’s too early to assess the full impact of the hurricane, we remind investors that we maintain parametric insurance across the Caribbean.”
Liberty expects to receive the insurance proceeds by the next quarter.
“Our weather derivative was activated and should help mitigate losses from property damage, business interruption, and other impacts from Hurricane Melissa. We expect to receive US$81 million in third-party proceeds before year end,” said CFO Christopher Noyes.
Nair said the Category 5 storm’s path triggered payouts from both the western ring and a layer near Kingston. He credited Noyes and his team for structuring the policy to deliver fast payouts and strong net present value.
Noyes said that the parametric programme was built on historical storm data and tailored to protect high-value business areas, especially urban centres. He emphasised that the model continues to evolve annually, drawing on more than a decade of experience to refine Liberty’s approach to risk mitigation and business continuity.
Liberty Latin America’s Jamaica operations generated about US$108 million in revenue for the third quarter ending September, or “less than 10 per cent” of Liberty’s total, according to Noyes.
The group, which operates in various markets across the region, posted solid third-quarter results, with rebased adjusted core earnings rising seven per cent year-on-year, due to strong mobile post-paid additions and continued momentum in business-to-business segments across the region.