A Letter from the Table: A Claim Cannot Reopen a Door by Itself

Letter from the table

Dear members of the Resilience Council,

I co-signed the Reopen Map because a disaster does not end when the rain stops. I write from Santo Domingo, where I learned that the time between damage and a decision can be its own kind of emergency.

On 18 November 2023, exceptional rains flooded the ground floor where I work. Water came in faster than I could move equipment and papers. I shut the door, called home, and waited for conditions to become safe. The COE’s public warnings helped us understand the seriousness of the weather. Later, the national government declared a state of emergency for affected provinces. I did not expect the COE to pay my claim: its warnings were for public safety, while my insurer would assess the damage under the policy.

When I returned, the water had receded, but the floor, electrical fittings and several pieces of equipment needed attention. I took photographs, made a list, and began collecting receipts. The first urgent repair cost me RD$18,400. I paid it from money set aside for ordinary expenses. In the days that followed, I lost about RD$32,000 in income while I could not work as usual. These are not large numbers to a major institution. For a small owner, they determine whether there is enough left for the next week.

I contacted my insurance provider and submitted the documents it requested. I also sought confirmation of the damage through the appropriate local channels. Each step made sense on its own: show what happened, show what was damaged, show what it cost. But the steps took time, and the bills did not wait for the file to be complete. I borrowed RD$25,000 from someone close to me and asked a supplier to allow me

extra time to pay. I was fortunate that both agreed. That kind of help is not a recovery system; it is a personal favor that may not be available the next time.

The claim was still unresolved a month after I first reported it. I could not plan with confidence because I did not know when a decision would come, or how much of the expense would be recognized. I kept working where I could, repairing what I could afford, and postponing what I could not. The difficult part was not only the amount at stake. It was having no reliable date on which I could make the next decision.

That is why I support the Reopen Standard. A requirement that claims be decided within 30 days would not mean every claim must be approved. It would mean the owner receives a timely decision, with an explanation and a clear next step. Bridge funding within 10 days of a declared disaster would address the first, most urgent costs: making a space safe, replacing essential equipment, and keeping basic obligations from piling up while an assessment proceeds. Continuity-planning support for micro businesses would help us prepare before the warning arrives, not only document losses afterwards.

The details of a disaster response must fit the country and the local institutions. In the Dominican Republic, public alerts and emergency coordination have a different purpose from an insurance decision. The standard should respect those roles. It should also make clear what counts as an official declaration for bridge support, what evidence a small owner can reasonably provide, and how a person can ask for review if a deadline is missed. A process that requires an owner to hire help just to understand it will not be accessible to the people it is meant to serve.

I ask the Resilience Council to keep the owner’s calendar in view. In a large organization, a month may be one stage in a process. For a small business, a month can mean a month without normal income, while rent, utilities and household needs continue. The person waiting for a decision is not waiting in an empty room. They are making difficult choices every day.

To the CEOs and officials who may later receive the Council’s letters, I would say this: do not measure recovery only by whether a claim was eventually processed. Measure whether the owner could act while the damage was still fresh and the business still had a chance to reopen. A prompt decision and

modest bridge support can prevent a temporary interruption from becoming a permanent closure.