Deputy Premier and Minister for Financial Services, Labour and Trade Hon Lorna G. Smith, OBE (AL) reported at a press conference on September 16, 2024, that the VI delegation recently in the United Kingdom (UK) had an excellent roundtable with key members of the blue capital private sector, which included senior representatives of the Howden Group, one of the largest insurers in the world. Photo: GIS/Howden Group Holdings

According to the Howden Group website, it has offices in 50 countries and a network of partners in more than 60 locations. Howden Group also said it has over 18,000 employees and $38bn in premiums. Photo: Howden Group Holdings

Damages by Hurricane Irma in 2017. According to Hon Lorna G. Smith, OBE (AL), the Virgin Islands is experiencing the cost of adapting to climate change, especially in the high cost of insurance premiums. Photo: VINO

Deputy Premier and Minister for Financial Services, Labour and Trade Hon Lorna G. Smith, OBE (AL) reported at a press conference on September 16, 2024, that the VI delegation recently in the United Kingdom (UK) made sure to explore possible solutions.

She said such efforts included a meeting with Howden Group Holdings, an employee-owned insurance group that serves SMEs, corporates, and multinationals in more than 100 territories. 

Hon Smith remarked that the VI is experiencing the cost of adapting to climate change, especially in the high cost of insurance premiums. 

‘Excellent roundtable’

“I am pleased to say that we had an excellent roundtable with key members of the blue capital private sector, which included senior representatives of the Howden Group, one of the largest insurers in the world. 

“We agreed that investability and insurability will be key to attracting significant private investment into the Virgin Islands. I am determined to continue our discussions with these experts to assess how we can best utilise their support. Importantly, we will also be looking at how we can best incorporate our financial services expertise into this effort. I was pleased that Peter Tarn, formerly of Harneys was able to join the meeting,” Hon Smith reported.

According to the Howden Group website, it has offices in 50 countries and a network of partners in more than 60 locations. Howden Group also said it has over 18,000 employees and $38bn in premiums.

Hon Smith said, given that the Virgin Islands is currently unable to access funds emanating from the UN Climate Change Convention and the Paris Agreement, “we know that private sector climate finance will be an important element in helping the Virgin Islands build resilience and develop adaptation measures to help mitigate the impact of climate change.”