Policyholders files lawsuit against CLICO and BAICO directors

Bridgetown.

The Barbados Investors and Policy Holders Alliance (BIPA) is initiated legal action against the directors of insolvent insurance companies CLICO  and British American Insurance Company (BAICO).

The 13 directors of the two companies have  been served with pre-action protocol letters by lawyers representing BIPA  giving them two weeks to respond with either plausible reasons why the action should not be matianed or a convincing settement offer. 

Failing that, the court action to recover $76 million from CLICO and $52 million from those accused of negligence in the BAICO matter will be taken.

Lawyers for BIPA, Alair Shepherd, QC, and Esther Arthur sent off correspondence earlier this month to CLICO directors Leroy Parris, Terrence Thornhill, Woodbine Davis QC, Anthony Ellis, Leslie Haynes QC, Dr Adrian Lorde, Elridge Thompson, Dr Basil Springer, Vishnu Pamlogan and Edrick Griffith.

Those named in the BAICO claim are former CL chairman Lawrence Duprey and directors Robert Fullerton  and Brian Branker.

Price Waterhouse Coopers, the auditors, of CLICO and BAICO, the Supervisor of Insurance and the Attorney General as the representatives of the Crown are the other defendants named in both claims.

According to BIPA, the lost suffered by its members was a direct or indirect result of the negligence and a breach of duties by the defendants.