MALVERN, St Elizabeth — Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness on Thursday urged private insurers to pay up Hurricane Melissa-related claims, insisting this is critical to national recovery. He juxtaposed their performance with that of the National Housing Trust (NHT) which he said has paid out billions to just under 4,000 mortgagors who submitted claims for property damaged.

Holness’s comments came against the backdrop of concerns expressed by individuals and members of the business community about the snail’s pace of insurance payouts seven months after the Category 5 storm battered sections of the country.

“I believe that they should pay you very quickly. Paying up the insurance is critical to the national recovery. I want to commend the NHT for being quick in making the insurance payments, and I want to challenge the private insurers to speed up the payments on the claims. That is an important part of the recovery from Hurricane Melissa,” the prime minister said during the NHT’s handing-over ceremony for 27 service lots in Malvern, St Elizabeth.