– as winding down begins
Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang yesterday re-issued the liquidation order for Clico (Guyana) following a minor error in his original ruling.
Previously he had appointed Bank of Guyana liquidator, but local laws prohibit the appointment of a corporate entity to act in the capacity of liquidator.
The new order yesterday identified Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Lawrence Williams as Clico (Guyana) liquidator.
Meanwhile, Williams has commenced the liquidation of Clico (Guyana) and has begun to dispatch letters to policyholders inviting them to visit the company’s Camp Street office on specific dates.
According to a GINA release, “policyholders are also required to take along their policy contracts and a valid form of identification to facilitate processing.”
Policyholders, the release said, will only be processed on the appointed date in their letter. Rescheduling of appointments could be done through the Customer Service Department of Clico (Guyana) by dialing telephone numbers 226-2626-8. Policyholders without letters from the liquidator who wish to make claims or queries can also contact the company’s Customer Service Department, the release stated.
“Holders of life insurance and other long-term policies are reminded to ensure that their payments are made on time and are up to date in order that their policies remain valid and in force,” the release added. It said too that “the BoG further intends to transfer such policies to another insurer which will secure the continuity of those policies under their class of business and the coverage provided.”
During his recent meeting with policyholders, President Bharrat Jagdeo said “the long-term insurance portfolio would be separated and hopefully sold to another licensed insurance company in Guyana, thereby ensuring that policies of 6,924 active policyholders under this class of business exit Clico’s books intact and unimpaired.”
The government made available $3.6 billion – including $3 billion from the Caricom Petroleum Fund – to finance the payout of Clico policyholders. About $2.7 billion of this amount will be used to pay off all holders of investment annuity policies and other insurance liabilities not in dispute, subject to a maximum of $30 million per policyholder.
The remaining $900 million will be used to pay 39 large policyholders up to a maximum of $30 million with priority given to the institutional policyholders.
