In a recent speech, the Minister of Finance and the Public Service for Jamaica, Dr. Nigel Clarke, explained that the country needs better disaster risk financing structures in place, with catastrophe bonds cited as one option that may be suitable. Cat bonds have come up in government discussion in Jamaica a number of times, as the countries exposure to natural catastrophe risks, particularly hurricanes, is seen as so extreme that a major event could severely impact its economic development and finances. Hence having robust natural disaster financing in place is seen as key and with a line of credit through a Precautionary Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF set to come to an end in 18 months time, the country is now looking to put in place disaster risk management plans to ensure ongoing financial liquidity when the worst occurs. An advantage of Cat bonds is that they provide payout triggered by the severity of an event rather than by dollar estimates of damages so payouts can happen quickly once the trigger has been met allowing governments to provide emergency relief. disadvantage is that Cat bonds require budgetary space to fund premiums and designing the appropriate trigger can be difficult.