British American Insurance Was Main Topic
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
August 11, 2009
Citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis, good day. I bring to you the post-Cabinet briefing for Cabinet meeting held Monday August 10, 2009.
British American Insurance Company
At today’s cabinet meeting, members discussed ongoing developments regarding the solvency problems of British American Insurance Company. In particular, Cabinet was formally brought up to date with the steps that the Registrar of Insurance has taken to secure the appointment of a judicial manager to take over the administration of the company and carry out a detailed assessment of its commercial health. This exercise is being carried out in tandem with all other OECS locations of the company.
Application was made to the High Court Judge by the Registrar of Insurance for the appointment of a Judicial Manager and the Judge agreed with the case put forward by the Registrar. As a result, Ms Lisa Taylor, a partner in the accounting firm KPMG, has been appointed as the local Judicial Manager.
As of Friday July 31, Miss Taylor has taken over the management of the business operations of British American and she and her team have already met with staff from the Nevis and St. Kitts offices. The judicial manager and members of her team have also met with the bankers for the insurance company.
Part of the mandate of the judicial manager is to undertake a full audit of British American with regard to:
· business procedures
· assets and liabilities
· investments, among other things
The local Registrar of Insurance, located within the ambits of the Ministry of Finance of the Federal Government, has been careful to have the court appoint a partner in a reputable international accounting firm so that the inquisition would be completely objective and above board.
Cabinet again expressed grave concern of the apparently callous and irresponsible way in which the local management of British American has been avoiding addressing the company’s customer obligations, including suggesting that British American’s failure to respond to the demands of existing policy holders should be blamed on Government. The government looks forward to the completion of the examination of British American by the judicial manager and hopes to be guided as to the best way forward to protect the interests of our local investors.