In a press release sent over the weekend, annuity holder and head of a group formed to protect the interests of CLICO policyholders Bishop Simeon Hall said the government must do more to cause some resolution to the awkward and demoralized state some 3,500 policyholders find themselves in.
"Policyholders who continue to pay into this insurance, on the prime minister’s advice, are worried and becoming hopeless about this situation and people needing medical attention are facing insurmountable problems in using CLICO as an insurance," he said.
"Of particular concern are the elderly – the mamas and the papas – who are under great stress not knowing what will happen to their hard earned monies."
The local liquidation rocked the C L Financial Group, the holding company of CLICO, and its subsidiaries since the Trinidad Government mounted a surprise bailout on January 30, 2009 of four of the Port-of-Spain-based group’s financial institutions after they encountered liquidity problems.
According to reports, CLICO (Bahamas) has just over 29,000 policyholders, over 170 workers and over $100 million in policy liabilities.
Its advances to its real estate subsidiary CLICO Enterprises Limited – based on un-audited accounts – grew from $57 million at the end of 2007 to $72 million at the end of last year.
Bishop Hall said the posting of millions of dollars, as guarantee to the next buyer is obviously not helping the current policyholders in need of immediate critical medical attention.
He said since both the Free National Movement (FNM) and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) is responsible for the CLICO fiasco they must both now move to fix the problem.
"The CLICO debacle occurred under the watch of both the PLP and FNM governments and one can only wonder if the watchman at the wheel was conveniently asleep because of the way things get done in The Bahamas," he said. "I call on parliamentarians on both sides of the honorable House to do more to protect the innocent citizens of The Bahamas from the greed of big corporations on our country."
