Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) reaches out to homeowners affected by Hurricane Dean

KINGSTON, Jamaica – A special initiative has been launched by the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) to assist homeowners and Jamaicans on the whole to rebuild following the passage of Hurricane Dean on August 19.

The Building Society and several of its subsidiaries have extended products and services which provide an avenue to fund home repairs, facilitate smooth insurance claims processing, and encourage donations to aid rebuilding efforts currently underway.

“We have implemented a three-pronged response to relief efforts following the hurricane. We are focusing on aid, advocacy and recovery,” Ruth Jankee, General Manager of the JNBS Foundation disclosed.

She stated that with the recent conclusion of a series of community meetings, “the JNBS Foundation provided a platform for residents in three of the most critically impacted communities to voice their concerns. This was aimed at assisting aid agencies in identifying the issues in each community, which will hopefully, lead to the development of specific responses to address these issues.”

The Community meetings, which were held in Morant Bay, Portland Cottage, and Old Harbour Bay, were attended by hundreds of residents who were displaced by Hurricane Dean.

Ms. Jankee also advised that the Foundation was partnering with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) to provide assistance to those most severely affected by the Hurricane.
She pointed out that members of the Diaspora and other well wishers could also participate in these relief efforts by donating money to an account specifically set up to aid charity efforts in this post-hurricane period.

“This collaborative effort involves JN Money Services (JNMS) which has waived the remittance fees for persons overseas who wish to donate money to this Fund. JNBS will pool these donations and channel them to make a larger impact on organizations and persons involved in the recovery efforts,” she said.

The Account number for the JN Recovery Fund is 10272794.

“The post-hurricane response includes several JNBS subsidiaries, which have revved up all systems in order to provide the best possible service during this period,” Ms. Jankee asserted.

According to Ms. Leesa Kow, Acting JNBS Executive, Marketing, Sales, and Promotion, the charity effort is complemented by JN Disaster Recovery Programme, a loan package which was designed specifically for home owners. It provides three options for accessing loans to aid in home repair.

“Mortgagors can access funds through Home Equity Loans at rates as low as 11% with up to 10 years to repay. Under the JN recovery Programme Share Loans and Deferred Payments are also available to both JN and non-JN mortgagors as well as clients of JN subsidiaries,” she advised.

Ms Kow noted that JN mortgagors receive special benefits under the program.

“The program is not specific only to hurricanes,” she informed, “it is also applicable in instances of fire, earthquake, and flooding.”

Referring to the deferred payments option, Ms. Kow explained that “a moratorium, not exceeding three months, may be granted on existing monthly payments. This we hope will ease the immediate demands on the homeowner, enabling them to meet their families’ other needs.”

She revealed that the JN Disaster Recovery Programme also dovetails with the efforts of NEM Insurance to facilitate smooth claims processing.

“Mortgagors can use loans from the JN Disaster Recovery Programme to cover their insurance deductible or as most people say, insurance excess,” NEM Marketing Manager, Janine Ragbir explained.

She also stated that NEM has established a Catastrophe Unit to facilitate speedier processing of claims.

“We want to ensure claims are processed as quickly as possible, and that our clients receive response in a timely and efficient way,” Ms. Ragbir stated, adding “we have also been calling our clients in the most vulnerable areas to see how they were impacted by the hurricane and helping them to gather the requisite evidence to support their claims.”

“We urge our customers to acquire a detailed estimate of all damages, including photographs where possible so that an assessor can be appointed in a timely fashion,” Ms. Ragbir said.

The NEM Marketing Manager said that a steady flow of persons have come in to NEM locations, JNBS branches and Brokers offices island wide to register their claims.