By Caribbean News Now contributor
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Following the receipt of approvals from all nine insurance regulators and courts within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and The Bahamas, the transfer of British-American Insurance Company’s (BAICO) traditional insurance business to Sagicor was finalized last Friday.
As a result of the transaction, over 15,000 former BAICO policyholders have had their policies recapitalized, and are once again able to enjoy their original policy terms and access their insurance benefits.
Sagicor will make contact with each affected policyholder whose policy has been transferred, in order to welcome them to Sagicor, and to confirm how to continue receiving their policy related benefits, pay premiums and make claims.
Sagicor has made interim arrangements with BAICO for BAICO branches in the ECCU to provide ongoing customer support to policyholders. This means that BAICO will accept premiums and claims, and conduct other customer services on behalf of Sagicor.
Sagicor will also directly contact over an estimated 1,500 persons in the ECCU who are owed historical claim amounts, surrender payments, maturity payments, and bonuses by BAICO in order to make these payments. The ECCU governments have provided funding for these amounts to be paid. Recipients will need to sign an appropriate release as a condition of receiving their payment.
Some policyholders may have allowed their policies to lapse and the ECCU governments and Sagicor will now focus on identifying whether a solution can be implemented for those traditional life insurance policyholders whose policies lapsed between the commencement of BAICO’s judicial management and the announcement of the sale of the traditional life insurance business to Sagicor.