In a recent series of articles, Professor C. Justin Robinson, pro-vice-chancellor and principal of The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus, introduced the concept of the ‘endurance economy’. A reader shared his ideas with me. The phrase is used to describe a condition familiar to many Caribbean citizens: societies in which people learn not to expect efficiency, responsiveness, or resilience from institutions, but instead adapt themselves to delays, bottlenecks, and systemic shortcomings.
Professor Robinson’s thesis resonates deeply with the post-Hurricane Melissa claims experiences of Jamaican policyholders, who both Prime Minister Holness and Opposition Leader Golding spoke about. Indeed, if there is one event that exposed the practical realities of the endurance economy on our island, it was not simply the hurricane itself. Rather, it was the long and painful recovery period that followed. The storm passed. The challenges it revealed remain.
For many families, businesses, and communities, recovery became an exercise in endurance rather than a process of resilience. The irony is that some of these challenges were entirely foreseeable.
In August 2018, during consultations on a proposed insurance claims manual, I recommended that the insurance regulator include specific procedures for handling massive surges in claims arising from catastrophic events like hurricanes and earthquakes. The recommendation reflected a simple reality. The Caribbean is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world. It was never a matter of whether a major catastrophe would occur. It was only a matter of when. The recommendation was ignored.
Today, years later and after the experience of Hurricane Melissa, the consequences of that omission deserve careful reflection. The regulator recently invited public comments on recovery planning. While this initiative is welcome, it is noteworthy that discussions have not specifically centred on natural disaster events, the accelerating implications of climate change, catastrophe claims management, or the broader question of national resilience. This omission is troubling.
If there is one lesson Hurricane Melissa should have taught us, it is that recovery (or business continuity) planning cannot be treated as a generic administrative exercise. Climate-related disasters are no longer low-probability events. They are defining features of our economic reality. Any serious discussion of insurance sector preparedness and recovery must place catastrophe response, catastrophe claims processing, and resilience planning at the centre of the conversation, rather than at its margins.
The backlog of insurance claims that emerged after Melissa did more than delay settlements. It exposed weaknesses across multiple systems. Homeowners waited months, and in some cases much longer, for assessments, approvals, repairs, and payments. Small businesses struggled to restore operations. Contractors and suppliers faced uncertainty. Families carried financial burdens that insurance is specifically designed to alleviate.
When policyholders pay premiums year after year, they expect that, after a catastrophe, the claims process will function as an essential mechanism for recovery. Instead, many found themselves trapped in prolonged periods of waiting and uncertainty. This is precisely where Professor Robinson’s concept of the endurance economy becomes relevant.
The hurricane was a natural disaster. The prolonged backlog was an institutional challenge. Citizens were required to endure delays that should have been anticipated. They were expected to absorb costs that should have been mitigated through planning. Recovery became dependent not merely on physical reconstruction, but on patience, persistence, and personal resilience.
In an endurance economy, these experiences gradually become normalised. People stop expecting systems to work efficiently. Delays become accepted as inevitable. Frustration becomes routine. Citizens learn coping mechanisms instead of demanding solutions. That is a dangerous trajectory for any society. Equally concerning is the fact that very few citizens have a comprehensive understanding of the full impact and implications of Hurricane Melissa.
An official report of 326 pages of the expert analysis that was conducted after Hurricane Melissa exists, yet it is doubtful that many members of the public know of its existence or have reviewed it in its entirety. Policymakers, regulators, academics, business leaders, and citizens cannot effectively prepare for future disasters if the lessons of the last one remain unread, undiscussed, and insufficiently integrated into public policy. The report should not simply be archived as a historical record. It should serve as a national roadmap for resilience.
The impact of Melissa extended far beyond visible property damage. The event affected housing, infrastructure, public finances, business continuity, insurance capacity, community well-being, and confidence in institutions. It exposed vulnerabilities that climate change is likely to magnify in the years ahead. Yet, public discourse often focuses on the immediate aftermath of a disaster, while paying insufficient attention to the long-term institutional reforms required to reduce future vulnerability. This is where resilience must replace endurance as a national objective.
A resilient insurance sector requires catastrophe-specific planning, surge-capacity protocols, claims triage systems, technological readiness, transparent communication mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks designed expressly for large-scale disaster events. A resilient society requires an informed public, disaster-conscious institutions, and policymakers willing to engage seriously with climate risk rather than treating catastrophe preparedness as a secondary concern.
Most importantly, resilience requires a willingness to learn from experience. The lessons from Hurricane Melissa are too valuable to ignore. Professor Robinson’s endurance economy provides us with a useful framework for understanding what went wrong. The challenge now is ensuring that we do not simply endure the next catastrophe more efficiently.
Instead, we must build the institutions, systems, and regulatory structures capable of reducing the need for endurance in the first place. The true measure of our progress will not be how well citizens cope with future disasters. It will also be how effectively our institutions help them recover. Until then, Hurricane Melissa will remain more than a natural disaster. It will stand as a reminder that the greatest risks facing small island societies are not always the storms themselves, but the institutional weaknesses they expose.
Institutions in the Cayman Islands and from other parts of the world paid the Government of Jamaica the sum of US$241.9 million weeks after Hurricane Melissa – by November 13, 2025, in the case of the Cayman Islands’ entity, and by December 1 in the case of subscribers to the US$150-million Catastrophe Bond. Evidence in some parts of the local public and private sectors suggests that some leaders are aware the Endurance Economy exists. Also, that strategies are being implemented to constrain it. Sadly, neither the insurance industry nor its regulator is among the early adopters.
If you require assistance managing risks or solving insurance problems, Cedric E. Stephens offers free counsel and advice. To obtain information and counsel, please write to The Business Editor at business@gleanerjm.com or contact Mr Stephens directly at aegisja@gmail.com. Letters and e-mails will be edited for clarity and length.
