Monster Hurricane Melissa could cost Jamaica as much as $4.2 billion in insured losses, according to global data analytics firm Verisk.

The firm said most of the modelled loss was attributable to wind.

Hurricane Melissa became one of the strongest hurricanes on record with winds of 185mph at its peak and a central pressure of 892 millibars.

Fuelled by exceptionally warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear, it made landfall in New Hope, Westmoreland, as a Category 5 storm last week.

In some neighbourhoods, the storm blew the roofs off almost all the houses. Other areas suffered considerable flood damage.

Verisk said non-engineered residential buildings and engineered commercial buildings experienced similar degrees of damage. From residential homes to commercial buildings including grocery stores, petrol stations, airports and hospitals, buildings serving a variety of functions were impacted and badly damaged.

A report from Verisk’s Extreme Event Solutions Group said: “The residential building inventory in Jamaica is dominated by masonry construction at almost 70 per cent and approximately 30 per cent are wood-framed buildings.

“Roofs are mostly low to pitched flat and the construction practices are informal with minimal to almost no professional input. Under these circumstances, significant damage and, in a number of cases, near total destruction of buildings is expected in the landfall area when a Category 5 hurricane brings 185mph winds, such as those from Hurricane Melissa.”

A statement added: “Many neighbourhoods in St Elizabeth parish, where Melissa made landfall, including Black River, Barbary Hall and adjacent areas are reporting significant damage with 80 to 90 per cent and in certain cases 100 per cent of roofs destroyed.”

Major tourism centre Montego Bay on the northwestern side of Jamaica also experienced devastation.

Significant uncertainty exists in the insurance take-up rates in Jamaica. Less than 20 per cent of Jamaican homes are insured, according to a 2025 report from the Insurance Association of Jamaica.

Many of those homes are underinsured, while many commercial and automobile lines are not insured at all.

Melissa was not only the most intense hurricane on record to make landfall in Jamaica but also the most intense storm of 2025. It was third only behind 2005 Hurricane Wilma and 1988 Hurricane Gilbert for lowest minimum central pressure in an Atlantic hurricane.