Insurance companies have given Grenadian property owners the assurance that they will pay out on claims brought as a result of Hurricane Ivan. Grenada’s trade commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago Dr Patrick Antoine, said the insurers have reported that they have not yet got many claims but expect that through their re-insurers, they have the capacity to compensate for property damage. However, Dr Antoine says home owners and business proprietors may be on their own with regard to damage to the contents of their buildings. “Because Grenadians typically have not insured furnishings and the businesses that were not looted have not insured stocks in some cases. But needed immediately to begin the process of compensation are valuators to assess the cost of damage, and the Trade Commissioner said there are not enough of them in Grenada. It has been estimated that 90% of properties have been destroyed or seriously damaged by Hurricane Ivan. At another level of reconstruction, Dr Antoine noted that Trinidad-based companies with investment in Grenada have committed themselves to the task of rebuilding and expanding their investment in Grenada. Free movement Dr Antoine also said the events after Hurricane Ivan have shown how some of the ideals of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) can work. "The fact that you have capital flowing so easily, you have goods flowing so easily, the fact that you have people traveling - in many cases without passports," he said. "That indicates to me that the CSME certainly between Grenada and Trinidad is very much on stream and I think it would be very difficult for any of us to shut it down." The trade commissioner said the Grenada government has begun discussions with international financial agencies such as the World Bank, the IMF and financial agencies in Trinidad.