Insurance in Grenada

NIS applies across Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The National Insurance Board administers it, with offices in St. George's, Grenville and Carriacou. Employees and self-employed people, including non-nationals working in these territories, generally have registration and contribution duties. Employers register each employee within four days. The ordinary registration age is 16 to 65, although employees are registered regardless of age; for employees below 16 or above 65, the employer contribution is 1%. Voluntary coverage is available from age 16 to 63 for people who ordinarily live in Grenada and are not employed or self-employed. For employees, the NIS contribution is 13.5% of insurable earnings: 6.25% from the employee and 7.25% from the employer. Self-employed contributors pay 13.5%, while voluntary contributors pay 6.75%. The monthly insurable-earnings ceiling is EC$5,200, or EC$1,200 per week. Employers pay by the end of the month and receive a 14-day grace period; late payments attract a 10% surcharge and 1% interest for each month or part of a month. Self-employed people may pay continuously or annually under the rules introduced on 1 July 2023. The annual range for all NIS benefits is EC$907 to EC$8,424, and the current contribution year is needed for short-term benefits in the following year. NIS provides 19 benefits. Long-term benefits include Age, Invalidity and Survivors benefits. Short-term benefits include Sickness, Unemployment, Maternity Allowance, Maternity Grant and Funeral benefits. Employment Injury benefits include Injury, Medical Expenses, Disablement, Constant Attendance and Death benefits. Sickness benefit generally requires at least three months of registration, two months of contributions before the illness and an illness lasting at least four days. It pays 65% of average wages for up to 26 weeks, with a possible further 26 weeks. Unemployment benefit concerns involuntary unemployment and includes a 15-day claim deadline, at least seven days of unemployment, 52 weeks of registration, and contribution conditions for the preceding periods. Age Pension begins at age 63 and generally requires 575 contribution weeks; a grant may apply where the pension conditions are not met. Claims can be submitted through my.nisgrenada.org and may require forms, employer or termination certificates, medical certificates, birth or marriage certificates and original receipts. The private market is supervised by GARFIN, which registers insurers and insurance agents, brokers, sales representatives and adjusters. GARFIN's register recorded 26 licensed insurance companies on 31 March 2026: 14 General insurers, including composite or association structures, and 12 Long-Term insurers. Lloyd's underwriters also operate in the market. General insurance includes property, motor vehicle, marine, aviation and transport, liability, accident, sickness or health and pecuniary-loss cover. Long-Term insurance includes ordinary life, group life, health, group or registered pension products and annuities. An agent represents an insurer, a broker acts independently for existing or prospective policyholders, an adjuster assesses damage and a sales representative solicits or negotiates insurance. The Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Act, Cap 202, makes third-party motor liability cover the general compulsory insurance identified for Grenada. A vehicle should not be driven without valid third-party coverage. Comprehensive or own-damage cover is voluntary and may cover damage to the insured vehicle, subject to the policy. Before buying any private policy, compare the insured risk, sum insured, valuation method, exclusions, deductible, premium, payment frequency, renewal, cancellation, claims-notification rules and any hurricane, flood or underinsurance clause. Private premiums depend on the risk, sum insured, product, deductible, location, claims history, reinsurance and market conditions; no reliable nationwide average premium applies to all policies. Property insurance has a major role because hurricanes, flooding and windstorm damage can create substantial losses. Hurricane, flood, windstorm and, where offered, earthquake terms should be checked separately rather than assumed to be included. Underinsurance is a documented local risk: a sum insured below the relevant rebuilding or replacement value can reduce the claim payment. CCRIF provides state or parametric catastrophe risk transfer and does not replace an individual property policy. Property owners should also check whether the policy covers the building, contents, interruption losses, deductibles and the valuation basis. A policyholder should report a loss promptly to the insurer, agent or broker according to the policy and preserve supporting records, photographs, repair estimates, receipts and other requested evidence. The insurer may investigate and verify the loss, and an adjuster may assess the damage before approval and payment. The reviewed sources do not establish one universal statutory settlement deadline for all private claims in Grenada. GARFIN investigates complaints against insurers and intermediaries and can impose sanctions, fines or corrective action. The judicial-management status of British American Insurance and CLICO International Life means that neither should be treated as a source of new cover. Private policy changes depend on the contract and Insurance Act, Cap 150, including its 2011, 2013 and 2014 amendments. Renewal, endorsement, cancellation, surrender, lapse, conversion and transfer have different effects depending on the product. Activate replacement cover before ending an existing policy so that a coverage gap does not arise, update the sum insured after a major loss or change in building value, and disclose material facts. NIS changes between employment, self-employment and voluntary coverage require separate management of status and contribution continuity. Grenada also participates in a CARICOM Reciprocal Agreement and an agreement with Canada that can support aggregation and proportional benefits for qualifying cross-border contribution histories.