CLICO policyholders reject gov't bailout plan

Two new groups - 'Clico Depositors Interest Group' and 'Clico Policyholders Defense Group' - have started campaigns to pressure government to change its policy on the CLICO payout.

And CLICO life insurance agent Harold Sookhan is planning to take the government to court.

They are all concerned about the plan and have said the payment of monies over 20 years with zero interest will cause them to lose billions of dollars.

The government plans to pay up to $75,000 in cash and anyone who has more than that invested in the failed company would get their money is equal instalments with no interest over 20 years.

David Walker of Policyholders group is asking Finance Minister Winston Dookeran to give more precise details with regards to the assets and liabilities position of the collapsed financial institution.

Walker is a political colleague of Dookeran and helped write the COP paper “The Current State of the Trinidad and Tobago Economy” with economists Indera Sagewan, Mary King and Patrick Watson, which COP published just before the May 2010 election.

He told the Trinidad Guardian the plan runs contrary to the specific guarantees given by Clico, the Central Bank and the Government.

Dookeran spoke about the CL plan when he closed the budget debate Friday, noting that he chose the best of three options presented by industry experts and that tens of thousands of people would benefit from his plan.

Dookeran also said he believes there are "ghost accounts" that need to be properly investigated.

Insurance executive Sookhan believes Dookeran received the wrong advice and insisted that the Government must pay policyholders now by disposing of assets as stated in the MOU between the government and CL Financial chairman at the time, Lawrence Duprey.

He suggested that the Trinidad and Tobago government follow the lead of the Guyanese President, who announced last week that every policyholder of the failed conglomerate would be paid all the money owed to them.

Read the story: Guyana guarantees full payment to CLICO policyholders