What Hurricane Melissa Teaches Us About Managing Weather Risk
Weather derivatives provide the capital to recover faster — a tool every vulnerable economy should understand.
In 2017, I sat in a conference room in Kingston with Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and his senior advisors. We talked about the power and vulnerability of the island’s economy — an economy driven by sunshine, beaches, and the climate that makes Jamaica a global destination.
The conversation was about weather, but not the way most people think about it. Not as a forecast. Not as a storm. But as an economic force.
Even back then, we knew the risk was rising. Warmer oceans. Stronger storms. Longer disruptions.
We didn’t know the name of the big storm.
Today, we do: Hurricane Melissa.
