Guardian ( Trinidad and Tobago )
26 October 2024 ( Page 15 )
Policyholders disagree with CCJ ruling
The British American Insurance Co Ltd and
Colonial Life Insurance Co Ltd Policy Holders
Group (BACOL) has thanked policyholders for
“their patience and their support” as it
disagreed with the ruling by the Caribbean
Court of Justice (CCJ) to dismiss its lawsuit
brought against the Trinidad and Tobago
Government.
“We deeply, but respectfully, disagree with
the result,” said BACOL in a statement signed
by the chairman of its board of directors, Dr
Patrick Antoine.
“While the judgment represents a significant
setback, we shall not relent in the quest for
economic justice for BAICO and Clico
policyholders.
In the coming weeks and months, the
judgment will be subjected to keen analysis so
as to assess whether it leaves any further
avenue open for judicial redress,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Trinidad-based Caribbean CCJ
dismissed the lawsuit brought against the
Trinidad and Tobago Government overthe
2009 collapse of the British American
Insurance Co Ltd and Colonial Life Insurance
Co Ltd insurance giants.
“The claim is dismissed and the parties were
ordered to bear their own costs,” CCJ
President, JusticeAdrian Saunders said in the
summary of the judgment.
BACOL 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 the British American Insurance Co Ltd
(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.
In April, the matter of Ellis Richards and
others versus Trinidad and Tobago was heard
by the CCJ, with the lawyers for the
policyholders arguing that the Trinidad and
Tobago government breached the Revised
Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), which
established the Caribbean Single Market and
Economy (CSME), by bailing out certain local
CL Financial (CLF) subsidiaries such as Clico
and British American Trinidad (BAT) and not
regional subsidiaries such as BAICO.
The lawyers, including former St Lucia prime
minister, Dr Kenny Anthony, said that while
local policyholders were protected and
essentially guaranteed their full investments,
the Eastern Caribbean policyholders were only
able to recoup approximately 14 per cent of
their investments through the liquidation of
the regional subsidiary.
“It is with profound disappointment that we
inform the policyholders of British American
Insurance Company (BAICO) who lost
hundreds of millions of dollars when the CL
Financial Group (CLF) collapsed, that the
Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has dismissed
the claims brought on their behalf against
Trinidad & Tobago,” Antoine wrote in the
statement. (CMC)
Photo -
File: Dr Patrick Antoine, the chairman of the
Eastern Caribbean policyholders’ group./