Barbados needs wider insurance coverage across key sectors such as housing and agriculture to reduce the financial burden on the state after disasters, Economic Affairs Minister Marsha Caddle has warned, arguing that current protections remain too narrow despite new safeguards for credit union deposits.

During Tuesday’s debate on the Protection of Depositors Bill, which will provide insurance cover to credit union members’ savings, Caddle argued that while deposit insurance was an important step, similar protections were needed across other sectors of the economy.

“That this bill strengthens and makes insurance accessible to credit union depositors is key,” she said. “But frankly, so are all the other kinds of insurance.”