Sagicor Life acquires Clico, British American portfolios

SAGICOR Life Inc will acquire the traditional insurance portfolios of both Colonial Life Insurance Company (Clico) and British American Insurance Trinidad Limited.

Sagicor Group President and CEO Dodridge Miller, in a press release issued yesterday, said, “We are pleased to welcome the policyholders to the Sagicor family and assure them of the same level of protection and service that our existing policyholders enjoy upon the completion.”

Claire Gomez-Miller, Clico Executive Chairman and British American Chairman, said, “Sagicor emerged as the preferred buyer in an open and very competitive tender process with guidance from independent global industry experts.

News of the acquisition yesterday came four months after Newsday reported that after three bid rounds and several years, a preferred bidder was identified for the Clico/British American Insurance traditional portfolio.

Back in May, Central Bank governor Alvin Hilaire cited confidentiality agreements, in him being unwilling to say anything on the bidding, the preferred buyer and the value of the transaction.

The bank took emergency control of Clico/BAT when the parent conglomerate, CL Financial, approached the State in 2009 for a bailout which struck taxpayers to the tune of $23 billion.

At a press conference in March, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the two main bidders were Sagicor and Maritime, with the preferred bidder being Sagicor, even though the company’s bid was the lower of the two.

Sagicor which is over 175 years old offers a range of products and services including life, health, and general insurance, banking, pensions, annuities, and real estate.