The Caribbean has always lived with hurricanes.What has changed is not simply the storms themselves—but how the insurance and capital markets evaluate risk.

Following the unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, insurers, reinsurers, catastrophe modelers, lenders, and institutional investors fundamentally changed the way they assess climate exposure throughout the region.

In this interview with AM BestTV during the RMS Exceedance Conference in Miami, Adam Greenfader, Chairman of AG&T, discusses how these historic storms marked a turning point for Caribbean real estate, hospitality, and infrastructure development.

A New Era of Catastrophe Modeling

One of the most significant changes has occurred behind the scenes.

Insurance companies are no longer relying solely on historical storm data to price risk.

Today’s underwriting increasingly incorporates sophisticated catastrophe models, high-resolution climate data, predictive analytics, flood modeling, storm surge analysis, and forward-looking climate scenarios.

These tools allow insurers and reinsurers to evaluate individual assets with far greater precision than ever before.

As a result, climate risk is becoming increasingly measurable—and increasingly influential in investment decisions.

The Rules Are Changing

The conversation highlighted an important reality for developers.

The standards used to design projects twenty years ago may no longer be sufficient for the decades ahead.

Climate scientists continue to observe stronger hurricanes, more rapid storm intensification, heavier rainfall, higher storm surges, and storms that maintain destructive strength for longer periods.

While the official Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale currently ends at Category 5, researchers have begun discussing whether future storms may warrant an additional classification as wind speeds continue to exceed historical benchmarks.

Whether or not a formal Category 6 is ever adopted, the message for developers is already clear.

Projects entering planning today should anticipate more demanding environmental conditions over their operating lives.

Resilience as an Investment Strategy

The insurance industry is increasingly rewarding resilient design.

Developments that incorporate stronger building envelopes, elevated finished-floor elevations, impact-resistant materials, redundant utility systems, flood mitigation, backup power, and nature-based resilience strategies are becoming more attractive to insurers, lenders, and institutional investors.

In many cases, these investments can improve insurability, reduce long-term operating costs, and enhance asset value.

Resilience is no longer viewed simply as a construction expense. It has become part of the financial equation.

 

Beyond Building Codes

One of the key lessons emerging from the discussion is that simply meeting today’s building code may not be enough.

Developers increasingly need to ask a broader question:

How will this project perform thirty or fifty years from now?

Forward-thinking owners are designing beyond minimum standards by considering higher wind loads, longer-duration storms, greater rainfall intensity, coastal flooding, and the increasing importance of energy independence and infrastructure redundancy.

Those decisions are becoming critical not only for public safety but also for financing, insurance availability, and long-term investment performance.

Implications for the Caribbean

For island economies that depend heavily on tourism and hospitality, these changes have profound implications.

Hotels, resorts, marinas, airports, residential communities, and critical infrastructure must increasingly demonstrate their ability to withstand future climate conditions.

Institutional investors, lenders, and insurers are placing greater emphasis on resilience during underwriting and due diligence.

Projects that fail to adapt may face higher insurance costs, more restrictive financing terms, or reduced investor interest. Conversely, resilient projects are increasingly viewed as lower-risk, more durable investments capable of generating stronger long-term returns.

AG&T’s Perspective

At AG&T, we believe the insurance industry is helping drive one of the most important transformations in Caribbean development.

By redefining how climate risk is measured and priced, insurers are encouraging developers to rethink not only how projects are built—but how they are planned, financed, and operated over their entire lifecycle. The future of Caribbean real estate will not be defined solely by beautiful architecture or exceptional locations. It will be defined by resilience.

Developers who embrace higher design standards, smarter infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and long-term climate adaptation will be better positioned to attract capital, secure insurance, and create projects that endure for generations.

 

The conversation is no longer about recovering after the next storm. It is about building communities capable of thriving despite them.