The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The  Bahamas Insurance Association’s (BIA) chairman yesterday backed a public inquiry into CLICO (Bahamas) collapse, adding that the new regulatory framework for the sector is “quite robust”.

Emmanuel Komolafe said that when CLICO was placed into Supreme Court-supervised liquidation in early 2009, the old Insurance  Act from 1969 was in effect.That has since been replaced with the Insurance Act 2005.

“It has given more teeth to the regulator,” said Mr Komolafe, referring to what is now the Insurance Commission of the Bahamas.

“Another segment to that was the exchange control regime. A lot has been said about CLICO, how it happened and how the money got out of the jurisdiction. It makes sense to have some discussion and potential inquiry; an inquiry into what happened there.”

Mr Komolafe added: “We believe the current framework for the industry is robust, but I think it will benefit the country, industry and the economy as a whole if we did some kind of review of what transpired so we can prevent it from happening again.

“From my perspective, the current Insurance Act is quite robust. The  Insurance Commission is able to fine persons, come in for on-site examinations and they are in touch with their licensees.

“The majority of those questions will be answered if we have a comprehensive review; not to point fingers  but to see how we can we can improve the system and regulatory framework for the insurance industry and financial services industry as a whole.”