Prime Minister Gaston Browne is expected to lead a delegation to Trinidad and Tobago to discuss the payment of millions of dollars owed to former policy holders of the Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) and the British American Insurance Company (BAICO).
The Government’s Director General of Communications, Maurice Merchant, said that while no date had yet been fixed for the meeting, the issue had been discussed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) between Prime Minister Browne and his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart, Kamla Persad Bissessar.
Prime Ministers Gaston Browne and Kamla Persad Bissessar
He said that both leaders agreed the long-standing issue should be settled and that preparations are now underway for a visit to Port of Spain.
‘The Prime Minister is putting together a team of officials from various ministries to travel to Trinidad. As soon as a date is set, he’s ready to go. It was agreed during their discussions in New York that there will be a settlement,’ Merchant said.
In July, 2022, Prime Minister Browne, said that Eastern Caribbean countries may have to file a lawsuit against Trinidad and Tobago for US$60 million, connected to the collapse of CLICO and BAICO in 2009.
Browne said then that the Trinidad and Tobago government had made a commitment to pay US$100 million to the countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), but only US$40 million was disbursed.
‘Possibly, we may eventually have to sue the Government of Trinidad and Tobago because, as you know, they had agreed to provide a settlement of US$100 million. They paid about US$40 million and the balance of US$60 million remains unpaid.’
Browne said he took over the chair of the sub-committee on insurance in the ECCU in 2021, and since then significant progress has been made in recovering some of the investments in CLICO made by residents of the Eastern Caribbean.
In October last year, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) dismissed a lawsuit brought against the Trinidad and Tobago government over the 2009 collapse of BAICO and CLICO, with the parties ordered to bear their own costs.
The British American Insurance Co. Ltd and Colonial Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Policyholders Group (BACOL) had brought the lawsuit, claiming that after 15 years of perseverance, it has ‘significantly advanced the pursuit of financial justice’ for policyholders in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines who have ‘suffered extreme financial loss and hardship’ after the collapse of BAICO.
BACOL said the collapse resulted in losses of over EC$800,000,000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) to businesses and individuals.
Merchant said that Prime Minister Browne is hopeful that an agreement can be reached with Prime MInister Persad Bissessar on the issue.
‘The Prime Minister believes that after so many years, the people of Antigua and Barbuda and the wider OECS deserve closure,’ Merchant said, adding that an announcement will be made by the Office of the Prime Minister once the meeting date is finalised.