The Government of Barbados earlier this year announced that its strategy to support the more than 40 000 policy holders and investors and the 1600 odd employees in the companies of Clico Holdings Barbados was to sell Clico International Life Insurance Company to ICBL.
ICBL has now indicated that they have discontinued discussions with Clico Holdings Barbados in respect of that sale. This tears into shreds the Government’s strategy for Clico and it raises a few questions.
Why should ICBL break off talks that the Government of Barbados are so keen on?
- Is it that the assets of Clico are not as sound as the Prime Minister has assured us?
- Is it that Clico is so confident of the Prime Minister’s support that they were not prepared to sell the company at the right price?
- Is it that the more ICBL found out about the operations of Clico the more they wanted to get as far away as possible?
What is certain, however, is that the Government should now seek urgently to have the Supervisor of Insurance apply to the Court to place the company under judicial management to protect the interest of these 40 000 policy-holders and investors given the sizeable Statutory Fund deficit.
This still leaves Clico Holdings Barbados or the Supervisor of Insurance to pursue the option of the sale of Clico Life or any part of its assets therein under the provisions of the Insurance Act.
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