NHT Streamlines Hurricane Claim Process to Support Mortgagors

The National Housing Trust (NHT) has announced major improvements to its hurricane claim process, designed to provide faster and more efficient support to mortgagors affected by Hurricane Melissa.

Corporate Risk and Insurance Manager, Stefan Clarke, explained during a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ that the NHT has issued a hurricane claim checklist and form for mortgagors, available at all branches and on the entity’s website.

“We also have an additional option for persons, where we are sending out our mobile units with the claim forms to targeted areas to ensure that persons have access to it,” he said.

“A Government-issued ID and TRN (Taxpayer Registration Number) are requirements along with photographs of the damage that you may have suffered and an estimate of the damage,” Mr. Clarke added.

Mortgagors who appoint an agent to act on their behalf must submit a letter of authorisation with the application.

“For persons overseas, it has to be notarised by a Notary Public. In Jamaica, you can use a JP, Justice of the Peace,” Mr. Clarke further indicated.

The standard timeframe provides five working days for claims to be routed to the insurer, five working days for the assignment of a loss adjuster, and a further five working days for completion of the loss adjustment process.

Mr. Clarke noted that Hurricane Beryl in 2024 provided the NHT with valuable insight into managing larger volumes of claims, resulting in a reduction of the standard timeline.

“The up to five working days that we would have experienced before, in terms of the submission of the claim, to the claim being sent to the insurer has been reduced, in some cases, to one day,” he said.

“The process, as it stood in previous years, would have been improved to the point where we are supposed to be able to manage all the claims that we expect to receive in a fair amount of time,” Mr. Clarke added.