The following extracted from the Barbados Investors & Policyholders Alliance (BIPA) Facebook Page.
Hopefully this will reach the eyes of those who are dragging their feet and will put enough fire under them to speed things up. If Barbados’ 50th Anniversary arrives on 30th November and policyholders have not seen the start of their money coming back, BIPA will have plenty to say about it.
Nation News Monday 12th September
WITH SOME MEMBERS dying before any resolution in the CLICO/BAICO insurance debacle, the head of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) has called for quicker action to conclude the rescue deal. “They don’t have a lot of time left and they need to have this thing settled within their lifetime as rapidly as possible,” said Ed Bushell. “A lot of these people who made the investment were in their 70s and 80s and some would have passed on without any hope.” The BARP leader was among more than 50 people attending the annual general meeting of the Barbados Investors & Policyholders Alliance (BIPA) at the St Gabriel’s School last Wednesday.
Bushell said BARP members were very concerned about the time being taken to resolve the problem, and he expressed mixed views about the current situation. “Coming out of this meeting I can see some light at the end of the tunnel. However, I hope it’s not an oncoming train. Based on the information that we got, I think we are going in the right direction. My major concern is the slow pace at which the judicial manager is working,” he said.
“Some of my members who took their savings and invested in CLICO, we’re not going to get into whether they were right to do it or not, but the fact is they did it and because of mis-management, they’re now placed in a position where they have become the genteel poor. They are asset rich and cash poor. Even those who are left with a house can’t sell it because of the market now. So they’re between a rock and a hard place and they need to get this thing resolved as soon as possible.”
A minute’s silence in honour of four members who died within the last year was observed at the meeting. BIPA officials said they feared the numbers could be far higher given that many policyholders were not members of the organisation. And they said the situation was further worrying, given the age of other members, the eldest of whom was 92. During the AGM, members were given the news that the September 30 timeline to transfer CLICO policies to the new company, Resolution Life, did not seem likely.
New Life Investment Company Inc. (NLICO), the holding company created by Government, is the sole shareholder of Resolution Life. BIPA vice president Deighton Smith, who represents BIPA on NLICO, described the process as “walking through thick mud”, and said several major issues had not been resolved.
He told the meeting that there appeared to be no urgency on the part of the judicial manager, which had caused the process to move at a very slow rate.“Once all of these instruments have been agreed to, then the liabilities will be transferred from CLICO to Resolution Life. The reason that it has not been transferred yet is that the valuation of the portfolio has not been completed and you can’t transfer it until you’re absolutely sure of what you’re transferring in terms of the amounts” he explained. Smith said BIPA was very disappointed with the pace at which things were moving. (WILLCOMM)
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.