MALVERN, Jamaica – The National Housing Trust (NHT) has waived approximately $585 million in peril insurance costs that would have otherwise been payable by mortgagors who benefited from hurricane Melissa mortgage moratorium, providing additional financial relief to thousands still recovering from the effects of the disaster. The announcement was made by prime minister Andrew Holness during the handover ceremony for the NHT’s Malvern Housing Development in St Elizabeth on Thursday.
Prime Minister Holness said the measure forms part of the Trust’s ongoing commitment to support contributors affected by hurricane Melissa and ease the financial burden on families as they continue to rebuild their homes and lives.
Highlighting the scale of the NHT’s response to the hurricane, the prime minister noted that the Trust approved 5,078 Home Grants valued at approximately $1.974 billion to assist affected Jamaicans with recovery and rebuilding efforts.
Additionally, approximately 36,000 mortgagors benefited from the NHT’s six-month mortgage moratorium, while 213 hurricane relief loans valued at $669 million were approved to support repairs, reconstruction and recovery activities.
The prime minister further revealed that the NHT has processed 3,835 peril insurance claims valued at approximately $7 billion. Of that amount, approximately $2.85 billion has been paid, providing critical support to homeowners affected by the hurricane.
General Manager of Loan Management at the NHT, Dr Suzanne Wynter, explains that under normal circumstance the waived amount related to peril insurance would have been recovered from mortgagors following the end of the moratorium. However, the NHT took the decision to absorb approximately $585 million in peril insurance costs. This is in addition to the approximately $1.12 billion in interest charges the NHT had already absorbed as part of the hurricane Melissa mortgage moratorium programme.
“The NHT has been providing significant support to affected mortgagors during the recovery period. We recognise that persons are still recovering and wanted to give some targeted and added relief,” Dr Wynter said. The Trust was particularly mindful that some mortgagors could face increases in their monthly mortgage payments following the recalculation of mortgages after the end of the moratorium period.
The additional relief measure was therefore designed to ease the financial burden on affected contributors as they continue their recovery journey.
Contributors continue to have access to the hurricane relief loan, to strengthen their homes and better prepare for future weather events until March 2027. The NHT also expanded the range of eligible uses of the loan facility to now include hurricane shutters, safe rooms and other resilience-enhancing features designed to improve preparedness and reduce vulnerability during severe weather events.
The extension ensures that contributors will continue to have access to financial support as they continue to recover and rebuild.
The post NHT absorbs $585 million in Peril Insurance Costs for hurricane Melissa-affected mortgagors appeared first on Caribbean News Global.