Regulator appoints crisis manager to stabilise troubled insurer

Regulators seized control of general insurers Equity Insurance Company Ltd on Monday, citing unresolved breaches of multiple laws and ongoing threats to consumer interests, in a move expected to reverberate across the island’s financial services industry.

As it took control, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) appointed restructuring expert Craig Waterman of PricewaterhouseCoopers SRL as manager.

The action, made under section 8(1)(d) of the Financial Services Commission Act, follows findings of unresolved breaches of the FSC Act, the Insurance Act, alongside regulatory guidelines and international best practices.

The general insurance company, which operates from Collymore Rock, St Michael, was founded by Francis Pounder, who is also managing director, according to the company’s website.

The FSC emphasised that this enforcement action aligns with its mandate to ensure transparency, consistency and compliance within the financial services sector. In a statement, the commission affirmed its commitment to fair and proportionate regulation, noting that those subject to enforcement are treated equitably while efforts are made to uphold public confidence and protect stakeholders.

On July 14, the FSC issued a formal notice (Notice No. LSED 2025/01) expressing its intention to assume management and control of Equity Insurance. The company was given until August 4 to submit written objections and demonstrate why enforcement should not proceed.

Equity responded with a letter of objection and an independent assessment conducted by Compass Advisory Services Inc. However, following a review, the FSC concluded: “Equity Insurance Company Ltd has not sufficiently remediated its serious breaches of the Financial Services Commission Act 2010-21, the Insurance Act, Cap. 310, guidelines and established international best practices.”

The island’s overseer of insurance companies, credit unions, mutual funds, registered pension funds and securities stated in the public notice on its website: “The Commission remains convinced that Equity Insurance Company Ltd does not maintain a high standard of financial probity, does not follow sound business practices and is unable to adequately remedy the breaches without independent, external professional intervention; and the Commission has consequently decided to proceed with the seizure of management and control of Equity Insurance Company Ltd, the appointment of a manager and the taking of any other necessary action for the purpose of protecting the interests of customers, creditors and the public.”

To restore confidence and operational integrity at Equity Insurance, the FSC appointed Craig Waterman to manage the insurance provider. Waterman, a licensed trustee under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Acts of Barbados and St Vincent, brings over 23 years’ experience in insolvency, restructuring and financial advisory services across the Caribbean.

His portfolio includes high-profile assignments such as the liquidation of Bancafe, receivership of major hospitality assets in Barbados and Saint Lucia, and managing distressed businesses in Belize and Aruba. His appointment is expected to facilitate the stabilisation and potential restructuring of the insurer in the interest of policyholders, creditors and the broader financial system.

The FSC confirmed that Waterman will assume full control of Equity Insurance Company Ltd until further notice. The commission reiterated that the action was necessary to protect customers and maintain the integrity of Barbados’s financial landscape.

Stakeholders and policyholders have been advised that the commission will continue to closely monitor developments and provide further updates as appropriate.

June Fowler, who relentlessly championed the cause of thousands of disenfranchised CLICO policyholders under the banner of the Barbados Investors and Policyholders Alliance (BIPA) from 2011 up to when government finally stepped in in 2019 to bail out the investors, on Monday welcomed the quick action by the FSC.

“It is good we have a government entity which is doing what it is supposed to do,” Fowler told Barbados TODAY, recalling that she and BIPA were demonised during the turbulent years of the CLICO debacle, when she blamed the government of the day for the collapse.

She noted that there were policyholders who died without recovering their investments. Fowler pointed out that to this day, policyholders have been approaching her from time to time, asking what was the latest: “These are people who have not been following what was going on. I told them the matter was resolved since 2019 and that they should contact the FSC, which may have uncollected funds.”

The developments come as litigation continues in the High Court some 16 years after the far-reaching collapse of CLICO International Life Insurance Limited.
(EJ/IMC)