Two insurance companies interested in CLICO

The Barbados government says at least two regional insurance companies have expressed interest in the local operations of the Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO).

The local operations suffered as a result of the cash problems that forced the CLICO's parent company, the Trinidad-based conglomerate, CL Financial Group, to accept billions of dollars in a bailout plan with the government in Port-of-Spain.

"Both major regional insurance companies have expressed an interest in looking at the CLICO portfolio and working with the government to resolve this matter," Economic and Finance Minister Christopher Sinckler told reporters.

"We have given instructions to the judicial managers to do the normal exchange of information to see how this matter can be dealt with, " he added.

Last month, judicial managers Deloitte Consulting outlined a number of options that were submitted to the Supreme Court, including a "base-level restructuring option" with no external funding which would see policyholders receiving BDS$0.60 cents (US$0.30 cents) in every dollar and the remaining 40 per cent in shares.

Four other options

There were also four other options available to the region, based on government injections of between BDS$56 million (US$28 million) and BDS$152 million (US$76 million).

Under all four options the full value of traditional policies, including life insurance, would be protected while corporate-executive flexible premium annuities would be converted into shares.

The judicial managers are expected to return to court in November to outline which option they prefer to execute with the government's support.

Meanwhile, the Barbados Nation newspaper reported Sunday that a decision will soon be made as to whether criminal charges are laid against CLICO officials after the company continued to write new insurance policies despite being barred by the Supervisor of Insurance back in 2009.

"I think that they are fairly advanced in those investigations. The investigators had discussions with the Director of Public Prosecutions [and] he has given guidance as to how the investigation should proceed," said Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin.