CLICO unit payouts may begin as soon as next week

The planned payouts by the Guyanese government to policyholders of troubled insurer CLICO Guyana, the local unit of bailed-out financial group CL Financial, could begin as early as next week, according to government information service GINA. The news comes after President Bharrat Jagdeo's announcement last week that the government will inject 3.60bn Guyanese dollars (US$17.5mn) to ensure payments to policyholders. Finance minister Ashni Singh said CLICO's policyholders will begin receiving letters indicating the time and date to arrange for the transaction. Jagdeo also announced that policyholders with investments in the company of less than 30mn Guyanese dollars, totaling over 4,300 cases, will be paid back in full, while 39 policyholders above that amount will be given support and a remaining 900mn Guyanese dollars to pay them a maximum of 30mn Guyanese dollars. Guyana was hit by the failure of the Trinidad & Tobago-based company in early 2009, as CLICO Guyana - previously one of the country's leading insurance and pension firms - had invested heavily with its parent company CLICO Bahamas, which itself was part of CLICO and CL Financial. The Bahamian government later pushed CLICO Bahamas into liquidation, putting the Guyana unit in financial limbo.