Finance Minister Paula Cox said yesterday Bermuda would be happy to act as base for the new World Bank fund to help protect countries in the Caribbean region from the financial losses caused by hurricanes.

In her Budget statement last Friday, Ms Cox said the Government would make provision to pay $1.5 million to the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF).

The money will be effectively be an insurance premium that could pay out to Bermuda in the event of a hit from a major hurricane.

The CCRIF was set up after the 2004 hurricane season caused devastation in the region. Heads of Caricom (the Caribbean Community and Common Market) asked the World Bank to create a fund that could assist small Caribbean countries in the event of natural disasters.

After the Bank staged two technical workshops last year, first in Jamaica in April and then in Barbados last October, it came up with a model to launch the Facility. The CCRIF will be up and running by April.

Speaking to Chamber of Commerce members at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess yesterday, Ms Cox said the Island would be a natural home for the Facility.

?We could have the Facility based here,? the Minister said. ?As a reinsurance and insurance centre, we are known as the risk capital of the world.

?So it would make commercial sense to have such an entity based here. And we would be most amenable to that idea.?

Ms Cox said added that the Government?s interest in the scheme was not totally self-serving ? even though the Fund could help Bermuda in the event of a major storm ? as the capital could also be used to help others elsewhere.

In the Budget statement, Minister Cox said: ?The contribution to capital, or the entry fee, is $500,000. Government has selected coverage with an annual premium of $500,000 and participants have been requested to pay two years in advance to assist the CCRIF in its early years.?

Representatives of participating countries will gather at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, later this month to formally commit to the scheme. Premier Ewart Brown will be present to sign up on Bermuda?s behalf.

In its initial working document on the CCRIF, the World Bank stated that the Facility?s day-to-day running would be subcontracted to specialised firms.

?Donor support to the Facility will be essential to ensure its financial viability and long-term sustainability,? the World Bank document stated. ?Contributions are being sought to to finance the Facility?s initial capital and its operating expenditures during the first few years of operation.?

In 2004, four hurricanes ? Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne ? caused a combined total of $4.5 billion in losses. Ivan itself hit eight different countries.

The case of Grenada was a clear example of why regional leaders felt the Facility was necessary. When Hurricane Ivan struck Grenada, the resulting losses were calculated at $800 million ? twice the country?s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The small size of many countries in the region makes it difficult for them to bear such huge disaster costs.