Clico payout…
…Government pleased with pace
SINCE the commencement of the Clico payout nearly three weeks ago, over 1,700 policyholders have had their cases addressed and the process is progressing smoothly, according to Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh.
“We have been very careful to ensure that the assurances given are honoured,” he said during a break in the Parliamentary session on Thursday, when he was asked by this newspaper how the process was proceeding.
Underscoring the Government’s commitment to addressing the concern of each policyholder, the Finance Minister said there are a number of differences in the approach “that we have taken in Guyana when compared to others in the region.”
He said that, for example, a number of the other jurisdictions have indicated that they will not treat with institutional policyholders, just persons with individual policies.
“We have not made that distinction between institutional policyholders and individual policyholders,” he said.
Further, he added that a number of other jurisdictions have also imposed a ceiling on the amount of cash that they will pay to the policyholders, “either in absolute terms or saying that they will pay up to a certain amount and that the rest would be paid with a government bond at zero percent interest after 20 years or so.”
“That is the kind of approach that has been taken across the region. We in Guyana have not taken that approach,” said the Minister. “We have devised a solution that is appropriate for our circumstances and we are implementing it with considerable success,” he said.
Dr. Singh explained that, to date, in excess of 1,700 policyholders have either received letters of appointments, have come in, have had their business concluded with the company or  have received payment.
He said that although this is across all categories, “What we have attempted to do is start with the smallest policyholders first, for various reasons, because they are the largest in number and they are the most vulnerable, the people who need their resources most urgently.”
The Minister said the process is being done very smoothly and noted: “I am very pleased with how the technical team has approached this matter. I am very pleased with the manner of how the entire exercise has been approached.”
“I am also very pleased with the interaction of the policyholders also. They operated in a very orderly fashion…they have awaited their letter. Where they wanted clarifications, they received them. Where there was need for further information that necessitated them coming on another day, they were given another day…so by and large it has gone well but we are going to continue the work. The work is not over. We’re going to be resolute in continuing the work,” the Minister noted.
On Thursday September 16, President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that, with the support of the Government of Guyana, a total of 11,290 policyholders of Clico would be getting back all of their money.
During the groundbreaking meeting with hundreds of policyholders at the National Cultural Centre, the President said that after $100 million of the available $600 million in available cash resources is set aside for the company until its wind up, the remainder of $500 million will be used to ensure that the company’s liabilities to long term insurance business is adequately backed.
The Government made available a total of $3.6 billion from the Caricom Petroleum Stabilisation Fund that was utilised to finance the payout to policyholders in the other classes of business, including investment annuity policies, executive flexible premium annuities, and flexible premium annuities and a number of pension funds.
The President, during the announcement of the Clico relief measures, said Government and the Liquidator would – at a future time – determine how they would treat related parties. The Government hopes to realise an additional $8.5 billion through the sale of assets and legal action, he added.
The President said that, of the remaining liabilities, approximately $6.2 billion is due to the Government or public sector entities, including the National Insurance Scheme, while $2.4 billion is due to non-governmental or private sector entities.