Prime Minister remembers insurance titan and St Lucy son, Wismar Greaves

Prime Minister Mia Mottley has paid glowing tribute to Wismar Greaves, former Supervisor of Insurance and long-serving CEO of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL), who has passed away.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Prime Minister described Greaves as a dedicated national servant, revered both in the insurance industry and St Lucy, where he had roots.

Stating that he would just as easily be recognised by the title Mr St Lucy or Mr Insurance, she said his passing ‘leaves a void in both worlds’.

Greaves, who retired in 2011, led the ICBL for nearly two decades and was widely regarded. The Prime Minister said he was a “living encyclopaedia of insurance laws, customs, and practices. When he spoke, one would have been foolhardy not to listen.”

In addition to his professional achievements, Greaves was remembered for his role in a ten-year legal challenge involving Canadian insurance company Manulife, which sold its Barbados operations under terms he and other local policyholders considered unfair.

Despite the class-action suit being ultimately unsuccessful, Mottley acknowledged the significance of the effort.

“Though Wismar and others who joined the class-action suit did not triumph in court, their battle brought a level of knowledge and awareness to local consumers that would make any attempt at a similar approach to insurance divestment today much harder to escape the eyes of Barbadians,” she said.

Beyond insurance, Greaves was deeply rooted in his St Lucy heritage, a fact which Prime Minister Mottley said could be seen by all.

“His St Lucy roots were evident in every facet of his life — his ‘accent’, his simple, rustic but strikingly robust approach to discussion, and his pit bull-like ferocity when it came to defending or representing the people, customs and issues of our northernmost parish.” (BT)