The Clico Policyholders Group (CPG), led by Peter Permell, is “deeply concerned” by the news the Central Bank is planning an update of the resolution plan with it.
In a statement released yesterday, the CPG said while it welcomed the news, its concern stemmed from the fact that the Central Bank had been “conspicuously silent on the balance owed by Clico.”
To date, the CPG said, there were over 15,000 “assenting” policyholders who accepted the former government’s offer of zero-interest bonds and Clico Investment Fund units.
“Our information suggests that whilst this first partial payment to the ‘non-assenting’ policyholders represents 85 per cent of the contractual cash value as at the end of the interest term specified on the policy certificate in the case of the Government as assignee and trustee of the rights of the ‘assenting’ policyholders this is not the case,” Permell said.
He said “sources” revealed that there has been some “clandestine agreement” between the previous government and the Central Bank/Clico “to only claim the actual payout value of the offer and not the full amount that is contractually due to the assenting policyholders.”
He said if this were true, it was “extremely troubling” as Clico was now solvent and its Statutory Fund was fully funded.
“Moreover, the Government as assignee and trustee for these insurance contracts is standing in the shoes of the assenting policyholders and as such is the only entity legally empowered to claim, on our behalf, the full amount that is contractually due to us from Clico,” he said.
“The CPG is therefore calling on the Central Bank Governor to clear the air on this matter and for the new Finance Minister Colm Imbert to also make his own inquiries, if necessary have any such unfair and unjust agreement rescinded and issue a statement accordingly,” Permell said.