Under 5,000 payouts outstanding

More than a month after extending the deadline for its settlement scheme, there is no indication how soon Resolution Life Assurance Company Limited (ResLife) will wind up the distribution of payments to the remaining eligible policyholders.

The initial aim of the company, which took over the portfolio of the failed CLICO International Life Insurance, was to complete policyholder payments by the end of July 2019.

The court-appointed firm then set August 31, as the date to end the distribution of payments to policyholders, before extending the deadline to September 27, to accommodate the remaining policyholders.

However, a day before that deadline, the company said it would continue its structured settlement process “until further notice”.

Chief Executive Officer of ResLife Cheryl Senhouse told Barbados TODAY the further extension was necessary.

“We saw it necessary to continue the settlement process beyond September 27, to facilitate as many persons as possible. Our team will continue serving clients thoroughly as we have been over the last 17 weeks,” she said, opting not to give a new deadline.

An estimated 17,000 policyholders are entitled to settlement. Up to the end of August, ResLife had issued payments to some 10,000 policyholders.

Senhouse said to date the company has mailed settlement letters to 16,500 policyholders, and that  during the initial extended period in September, settlements were completed for approximately another 1,000 policyholders, reducing the number of uncompleted settlements to less than 5,000.

There are an additional 300 policyholders with consultations scheduled for this month. There are also policyholders who have already visited ResLife and are in various stages of the settlement process.

Some individuals have filed lost policy declarations and have a wait time of four weeks once the declaration notices are published. Additionally, some individuals are awaiting changes where there were discrepancies such as change to payee names and recalculation of settlements.

“We will be using our best efforts during the coming weeks to complete outstanding requirements for policyholders who have already come in, while encouraging those who have not yet done so, to come in to us to receive their settlement,” said Senhouse.

“Payments to financial institutions for policies, which were assigned, will continue to be processed during this time. Also, there is a list of persons whose mail was returned and whose addresses are unknown are updated and published on the website – www.reslifeassurance.com periodically. Policyholders who are entitled to a settlement and have not received letters should check the site to verify if their names appear on the list,” she said.

“Information for approximately 3,800 persons who completed Bond Applications up to mid-August has been submitted to Central Bank and we are working with them to facilitate the continued issuance of statements and first quarter payments. Bond holders have already started to receive payments and others will be paid over the coming days,” she added.

In relation to the company’s medical insurance portfolio, officials indicated that there was no further update.

In April Barbados TODAY confirmed that five firms were vying for that portion of the business, which officials had indicated should be completed by summer.

The companies were given until April 24, 2019 to indicate an interest and ResLife was expected to complete the selection process by late May or early June.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb