MARIGOT–Sandy Ground on the Move Insertion President Georges Richardson has called for specific house insurance coverage policies to be made available to the poor, the elderly and vulnerable, with affordable low rates for protection against future hurricanes and other natural disasters.
The majority of inhabitants of impoverished districts such as Sandy Ground do not have house insurance, or cannot afford it, Richardson noted, and as a consequence suffered greatly during Hurricane Irma.
He was speaking just days before the first anniversary of Hurricane Irma on September 6.
“The people are still reeling from the effects of that hurricane, and what concerns me one year later is that we don’t find ourselves back at square one if another devastating hurricane comes again,” he said. “By that I mean the people must have every opportunity to protect themselves. We can see that the Collectivité cannot go any faster in putting roofs back on poor people’s houses, so we cannot rely on government alone and must help ourselves.
“Not only must we build stronger, but we must have access to affordable insurance. That’s essential. What I want to see is the process of giving titles to land speeded up, faster than the present rate. Once you have a title you can then go to the insurance company.
“September is the high-risk month and God forbid we get hit again. The authorities have to understand just how important that document showing you have a title is. The timing is right now to speed up this action.”
Richardson said he brought up the subject of affordable house insurance with the Legislative Election candidate for Députée of the Northern Islands in 2017, Inès Bouchaut-Choisy, who had been endorsed by President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.
“I asked her to look into it to see if affordable insurance would be feasible for the poor people of Sandy Ground. It’s something that must be followed up and I would love that to become reality. We cannot just sit and wait for the government to help us. We have to help ourselves. Despite everything you read in the papers about the government doing this and that, and spending this and that, when it comes to concrete action there’s very little happening in my opinion. Missing in action.
“I’m pushing for an answer on this insurance question from the Collectivité and the Préfecture. We see that hurricanes are becoming stronger and more violent and maybe more frequent in the future. So, we have to act now,” he insisted.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79917-richardson-wants-affordable-house-insurance-for-the-poor-and-elderly
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